


Broken Open

by house_of_lantis



Series: Vampire!Verse [8]
Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-11
Updated: 2013-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-30 23:35:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/house_of_lantis/pseuds/house_of_lantis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampire Elder Adam plans to pursue Kris to the ends of the earth in order to have him…whether Kris agrees or not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to the Kradam vampire fic “For Your Entertainment”; set in my “Sanctuary” vampire verse.

The first time Kris ran away, he ended up in Jaipur. He was sitting on a marble bench in the Sisodia Rani Garden, enjoying the floral fragrances and scents of incense, when he saw Adam watching him from across the garden. Kris sighed as he stood, making his way out of the gardens and waved for a taxi to take him to Jaipur International Airport. 

He ended up in Stockholm, shivering due to the change of climate, and made his way to the nearest store to buy a coat. He was in Stockholm for all of two hours before he saw Adam sitting inside a restaurant, sipping coffee, watching him from his seat by the window. 

Kris made his way to Paris, then to Barcelona, and Lisbon but Adam always found him. Sometimes, it took Adam a couple of days to track him down – or it took Kris a couple of days to notice that Adam was there. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was he needed to keep running. 

He ran for three years. At one point, Adam stopped following him; or maybe Kris stopped looking for him. He settled in Cairo, teaching English to high school students at a foreign language center. 

He was moderately surprised that the taste of blood was the one constant no matter where he went or who he bit. Everyone had their own underlying flavor due to their emotion – fear, pleasure, desire, and anxiety – and Kris loved the taste of their blood, loved the way they felt in his arms and the way they gave over their bodies to him, but Kris still craved the taste of Adam’s blood above all others. 

Brad said it was Primogenitor’s blood – blood of the creator; _vampire father._ Kris punched Brad in the mouth, his knuckles scraped bloody from his fangs. Brad leaned on the floor, laughing loudly, as he licked at Kris’s blood on his lips. 

_“Don’t be so shy, Kristopher,” Brad teased, looking up at him coyly. “He likes it when you call him daddy.”_

That was when Kris ran. 

_“When are you coming home?” Adam whispered into his mind. “Come home to me, Kris.”_

He ignored the voice in his head, buried it deep inside where he wouldn’t have to listen to the longing and the need. 

_“I’ll never forgive you for what you did to me.”_

_Adam’s last words to him: “Don’t ask me to regret blood turning you into a vampire, Kris.”_

_Kris’s last words to Adam: “I’ll make you regret it.”_

*** 

**THREE YEARS BEFORE**  
Los Angeles, California 

 

“I found you. I could give you all the time in the world, Kris.” 

Kris stroked Adam’s cheek and his hair, but he shook his head. “But that’s not what I want. I wasn’t lying when I said that some people were meant to live just one life. I want to live just one life and make it the best one I can. I want to grow old and have a family; go to God when I die because I was a good man and lived a good life.” 

“This is why you are one of the exceptional ones,” Adam whispered, not wanting to let him go.

“But you promised to let me go.” 

Adam closed his eyes and pressed his face into Kris’s stomach, inhaling deeply. Kris wore his scent so well. “Yes, I did promise.” He raised his face and smiled at him. “And I will.” 

Slowly, with effort, Adam released his hold on Kris and took a deep breath. He could read the surprise on Kris’s face, but the smile of trust that Kris gave him made up for the sudden hallow feeling in his chest. His blood only flowed because he took it from a living being; his heart had stopped over a century ago; and yet, he felt the phantom pangs of tightness and pain in his chest as he watched Kris pick up his overnight bag. 

“Thank you for saving my brother’s life and for saving mine,” Kris said, looking into his eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to meet the terms of the blood contract.” 

“That kind of death is not in your future, Kris.” 

He gave Adam a puzzled look and a half smile. “Umm…okay, well, thanks, Adam. I’ll see you around.” 

He closed the door quietly behind him and fought the urge to run down the hallway to the front doors, the hair rising on the back of his neck as he braced himself to be dragged back into Adam’s room, sharp fangs in his neck, draining him and turning him. He shivered as he walked slowly down the hallway, knowing that anyone listening to him would hear the frantic beating of his heart. He could feel the blood pulsing in his ears by the time he walked across the foyer and opened the door. 

With a breath of relief, he saw a black Hummer parked in front of the house and Cassidy waiting for him by the driver side door. 

“Hey,” Kris said, softly. 

Cassidy gave him a smile and motioned with his head for Kris to get in. “Is there any place in particular that you would like to go?” 

“Just back to my apartment, please,” he said, buckling in his seatbelt and settling into the front seat. “Thank you.” 

Cassidy started the engine and Kris looked out the window as the car circled the front of the house, giving him a chance to look up at the beautiful house. He didn’t expect that Adam would be standing by the window looking at him so he dropped his gaze, feeling a little bit foolish. 

“His mark is going to protect you from the other vampires.” 

Kris’s hand went automatically to his neck, fingers pressing on the multiple sore spots. He bit his upper lip hard so that he wouldn’t moan in pleasure when his fingers brushed against the marks and he quickly dropped his hands to his legs, swallowing thickly. 

“And I guess you found out that they’re still sensitive,” Cassidy said, chuckling softly. 

Kris flushed and rubbed at his face, letting out a choked laugh. “Wow…I guess I can see why some people want vampires to bite them.” 

“The intensity will fade in time.” 

“Okay.” 

Cassidy sighed. “The memories probably won’t.” 

Kris calmly accepted that. He nodded slowly and looked out the passenger side window. They both knew that Kris didn’t need to say anything more. 

*** 

David was at the apartment when Kris walked in. He tossed his bag on the floor and stalked over to his brother, wishing that he was the kind of man who could punch someone in the face. He looked over his younger brother, just to make sure he was okay. He had dark rings under his eyes and he looked pale and exhausted and smelled like a mixture of alcohol and weed and old sweat. 

“Kris, I’m sorry—“ 

“Shut up,” he said, frowning. “You have no idea what I had to do to—to clear up your gambling debts!” 

David made a face, his eyes dropping down to the marks on Kris’s neck. “God, Kris, what—are you okay?” 

Kris shook his head. “No, I’m not okay, David! I’m not okay at all!” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re going back home to Arkansas and you’re going to explain to mama and dad what you’ve been doing in LA—“ 

“Kris, come on, I can stop—“ 

“—and if you don’t tell them, I’m going to tell them about the deal you made with my blood.” 

David collapsed on the couch, covering his face with his hands. “Please believe me. I never wanted anything to happen to you. I knew that I could’ve paid it back. I just got caught up with a bad streak and I didn’t have anything that Raoul wanted so I…” 

“So you decided that you’d use me as your collateral!” Kris shouted at him. “Thanks a lot, bro, for putting my life and my blood on the line! It’s good to know that I’m worth $78,000!” He reached down and grabbed David’s shirt, shaking him. “Do you know what he was going to do? He wanted a pint of my blood for every thousand dollars of your debt! How long do you think it would be before he drained me? How many times do you think he would have to bite me to pay off your debts?” 

David started shaking. “Did Raoul—did he—are you hurt?” 

“Do you care?” 

“Of course I care! Kris, I’d never do anything to—“ 

“It’s too late for you to apologize, isn’t it?” 

Kris shoved him away and stood up. He swallowed hard and sat down heavily on the nearby armchair. “The vampire Elder cleared the blood debt.” 

“But that’s great news! You didn’t have to…” he trailed off, looking at Kris’s neck again. “But if he cleared the debt, then why…” 

Kris snorted, giving him a look. “Because I had to ask him for a _favor_ and he granted it, but there was a price to pay—there’s always a price, David. I paid it.” 

“Ohmygod…” 

“Pack your shit,” he said, getting up and staring at his brother. “I’m going to get you on a plane back home tonight. I don’t want you in LA ever again.” 

“Kris, please, I’m sorry—“ 

“I don’t want to hear it,” he snarled, picking up his bag and walking into his bedroom. He closed the door and threw the bag into his closet. He kicked off his sneakers and crawled onto his bed, burrowing his face against the pillow. 

Honestly, he was glad that his brother was safe; that he was able to help him. But he wasn’t going to let David get away with things anymore and a part of him was relieved to know that David would be back home with his parents. He would check in with mama and talk to her about what happened, without giving her any details about the favor, and maybe get David into a gambling-anonymous addiction group. 

He was barely keeping his head out of the water in LA and he didn’t know if he could keep an eye on David and work on his music at the same time. He knew it was selfish of him to send David away but…Kris sighed, rubbing his face against his pillow, he was stretched so thin and…he didn’t know. 

Kris reached up and lightly stroked his fingers against his neck, shivering as his belly clenched as pleasure flooded through his body, his mind replaying over and over again how he moaned and begged for it. He shoved his hand under him, wriggling his fingers under his jeans and just rubbing his hardening cock against his palm, thrusting against the bed. He muffled his moans into his pillow as he ran his fingernails down the bite marks on his neck, and shuddered through a long, hot orgasm. He breathed out heavily and sank against the bed, opening his eyes to stare morosely at his bedside clock. 

*** 

Kris pulled on his sunglasses as he stepped out of the offices of BlueNote Records. He was literally bouncing with excitement as he walked down the sidewalk, his heart beating quickly as he thought about the three songs that he just sold. He walked into the first Starbucks that he saw and placed his order for a large black coffee and sat down in a corner table, pulling out the contract from his messenger bag and reading each word carefully. He rummaged in his bag for a small notebook and pen, writing down things that he wasn’t sure about and making notes on things that he wanted clarification on. One of his producer friends recommended a couple of legal agents who represented songwriters and urged Kris to have them review the contract before Kris signed it. 

He bit his lip and read over the different fees and royalty percentages. It wasn’t huge by any means, but at least he had some income to last him for a few months—maybe even a little money to produce his demo tracks. 

He sipped his hot coffee and nearly choked when he felt an odd tingling hit his body. His hand shook and he carefully put the coffee down, biting his lip as he gripped the edge of the table with his hands, head ducked down low, trying not to make a scene. He breathed through his mouth and stared at the floor, a pair of black boots stopping in front of him. 

Kris looked up and swallowed. Of course he understood the feeling now, of course he did. He shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Hi.” 

He took a deep breath and gave him a wavering smile. “Adam.” 

“May I join you?” 

“Please,” he said, motioning to the chairs at the table. He started organizing the papers on the table, not sure why the vampire Elder was there. He hadn’t seen or heard from Adam since that night. It had been over three months ago and Kris never expected to be in the vampire Elder’s presence again. 

Adam sat down and smiled at him, friendly and pretty. His black hair was long but loosely styled, the rings on his fingers ornate but subdued, and he was dressed in a black suit with a gray tee-shirt. Kris couldn’t stop looking at him, his hand automatically going to his neck, and Adam’s smile grew, a knowing smirk on his face. 

Kris dropped his hand and cleared his throat. “So, um, hi—what do I call you? I mean, you’re a vampire Elder so…” 

“I like hearing you say my name.” 

He flushed and Adam inhaled sharply. 

“I was in the neighborhood,” Adam said, casually. “And I guess you could say that I caught your scent and found you here.” 

“Oh,” he murmured, making a face at his own stupidity. He looked at Adam and waited for the vampire to say something because Kris didn’t know what else to say. 

“Kris, relax,” the vampire said, softly. “I’m not here to freak you out or anything. I just wanted to see how you were doing.” 

He smiled, nodding his head, some of the tension leaving his back and shoulders. He gave a little laugh and shook his head. “Yeah, sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to see you again.” 

“Understandable,” Adam said, smiling. “How’s your brother. David, right?” 

“I sent David home to our parents,” he said, shrugging. 

“You didn’t want him to fall back into his old habits.” 

Kris looked at him. “No, I didn’t want him to get into trouble again. I mean, you can’t keep bailing us out of things…” 

Adam chuckled, raising his eyebrow. “Trust me, I wouldn’t mind helping you. All you need to do is ask. I did offer you my unending friendship.” 

“I didn’t want to take advantage of your friendship.” 

He sighed, leaning back in the chair, smiling happily at Kris. “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons why I’d ever offer something like that. I trust you not to use it to your advantage. Not very many humans have ever had the unending friendship of a vampire Elder—not even vampires get that kind of consideration. It’s a source of power to have an Elder on your side.” 

Kris stared at him for a long moment, raising his eyebrows. He really didn’t know enough about vampire politics but he realized that having Adam as a friend was going to be something special; and he wanted to be careful and not end up using Adam for anything. 

“Oh…I didn’t know…thank you, Adam, that means a lot to me.” 

The vampire leaned closer to Kris, inhaling slowly. “You really are too precious for your own good. I’m trying to tell you that you can _use_ my friendship…for anything.” 

He blinked, looking away. “Wow…that’s…um…” 

Adam smiled, sitting back in his chair. “Would you come to the house and have dinner with me tonight?” 

Kris wasn’t sure he could say no—not that he wanted to say no, but—did anyone really say no to a vampire Elder? 

“I—um—“ 

“Just dinner, like with food and wine—not that I was implying _you_ were going to be dinner,” he said, smiling wickedly at Kris. “Unless you want to be.” 

Kris blushed and gave a small laugh. He lifted his chin and met Adam’s amused gaze. “Yeah, sure, dinner sounds great.” 

Adam smiled. “Good. I’ll have Cassidy collect you after sunset—say, around 6 o’clock.” 

“Okay. Yeah.” 

He watched as the vampire stood up, holding his gaze as Adam slid the chair closer to the table. 

“See you tonight,” Adam murmured, winking at him. 

Kris laughed and nodded. “Okay.” 

He watched as Adam strolled out of the Starbucks and bit his lip, still a little shocked to see Adam again—that Adam had “found” him and asked him to dinner. He chided himself for thinking it was anything more than just Adam checking up on him, making sure he was okay. 

It wasn’t a date, he told himself, don’t be stupid and think he was anything more than just a friend to the vampire Elder.


	2. Chapter 2

_The Lambert Residence_

 

Cassidy dropped him off in front of the house. “Just go on in, he’s waiting for you in the dining room.” 

“Okay, thanks, Cassidy.” He said, getting out of the SUV and walking up the steps to the front doors. 

He walked in and looked around the wide foyer, taking his time now to look and see the inside of the house. Knowing what little he knew of Adam, he found the house to a real mystery, if it was a reflection of the vampire Elder. It was elegantly decorated, fresh flowers and plants everywhere, mirrors and paintings and statues filled the walls and open spaces of the rooms. 

Kris continued down the hallway, stopping now and then to look at some of the artwork. 

“Well, good evening, gorgeous.” 

He turned to see Brad coming out of a room, looking casual and at home in his tight black leather pants and bright purple tee-shirt. He had a garland of violets on his head like a floral tiara and Kris couldn’t help laughing a little bit, completely charmed by the vampire. 

“Hi.” 

Brad smiled, walking closer to him. He leaned towards Kris and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. “You smell really good.” 

Kris grinned, putting up his hand and pressing it against Brad’s chest, pushing him back gently. “I don’t think you’re allowed to bite me.” 

“Not without permission,” he drawled, dark eyes twinkling. “You’d give me permission, wouldn’t you, Kristopher?” 

“Not,” he said, rolling his eyes. 

“Hmm…I think it’s sweet that you’re saving yourself for daddy dearest.” 

Kris made a face. “Ugh, do you really call him that?” 

Brad patted his face affectionately. “You never forget the first vampire who bit you.” He laughed and pointed down the hallway. “Dining room is right down there to your left. Don’t keep daddy waiting. I’m sure he’s been tracking the sound of your heartbeat ever since you got on the property. Adam’s not exactly the patient—“ 

“Brad,” Adam said, warningly. 

Kris jumped; he hadn’t heard Adam approach. 

“—type. Ahhh, see?” Brad gave him a little finger wave and walked down the hallway, disappearing from view. 

Adam watched Brad leave, smiling fondly at him. He turned to look at Kris. “Sometimes, I can’t believe I blood turned him…and then for him to be my first childe…what the hell was I thinking?” 

Kris laughed. “Admit it, you weren’t thinking with your upstairs brain at the time.” 

Adam nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I knew as soon as he woke up that he was going to drive me crazy for the rest of my immortal life. But I didn’t invite you here to talk about my _Consigliere Personale_.” He tucked his arm around Kris’s shoulders and gazed down at him. “I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for coming.” 

“Well, thanks for inviting me,” he murmured, smiling up at him. 

“Are you hungry?” 

“Yup, I could eat.” 

“Hmmm…so could I,” Adam said, blue eyes sliding down Kris’s neck. “Shame that the marks always fade in time. I could always give you more?” 

Kris licked his lips and snorted. “Uh, no?” 

“Give a guy some credit for trying, right?” 

Adam led him down the hallway as Kris laughed at the pouty expression on Adam’s face. 

*** 

Kris pushed his plate away and sat back in his chair, sighing. “Wow, that was delicious.” 

“You sure you don’t want more?” Adam said, pouring him another glass of red wine. 

“I ate like two steaks! I don’t think I have room for more.” He patted his full belly and laughed. “Thanks for dinner.” 

“It was my pleasure.” Adam smiled, looking at him. “When you said you liked your steaks rare, I knew you were a man after my own heart.” 

Kris blushed, looking down at the table. “Adam?” 

“Yes.” 

“This is great and everything—I mean, I appreciate what you did for me and my brother, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like…do you…want something from me?” 

“What are you offering, baby?” He teased. 

Kris chuckled, nervously. “I guess I’m just wondering if…I mean, why would you…” 

“Want you?” Adam said, leaning back in his chair and watching Kris. “Why would I want you? After I’ve already had you. That’s what you want to ask, right?” 

“I guess, yeah,” he said, shrugging. 

Adam gave him a small, sad smile. “I’m 165 years old, young by vampire standards, but not old enough to forget what it’s like to be a human man. Aside from my need for blood and a longer lifespan, I still have all of my human traits. I’ve fallen in love, I’ve felt hate, I’ve done things that I’m proud of and things that I regret, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been hurt—I feel the same things that I’ve always felt when I was still mortal.” 

He got out of his chair and walked around the table to stand next to Kris. He looked up at the vampire, a cool hand touching his face, stroking his cheek. Kris closed his eyes and let himself press his face into Adam’s gentle touch. 

“I’ve kept parts of my humanity,” he murmured, smiling. “Vampires aren’t monsters, we’re still very much human in many ways—just because we’re older doesn’t make us any wiser or more emotionally mature than anyone else. We still experience life…but it gets pretty lonely through the long years we’re alive.” 

Kris nodded, feeling a deep bloom of compassion for him. “Yeah, I get that.” 

“So it’s always amazing when we meet someone who eases that loneliness. And I don’t want to waste time, especially the short time that mortals have on this earth. You must know that you’re special to me.” 

“I’m just an ordinary guy,” he said, shrugging his shoulder. “I have an ordinary life.” 

“But don’t you want more?” Adam said, earnestly. “You want your music, your songwriting. You want people to hear you.” 

Kris chuckled. “Well, yeah, sure. I don’t deny that I want those things. I love it and if I can make music for other people to enjoy, too, then that’s probably the greatest thing there is.” 

“And what about for your _life_?” 

Kris sighed. “I want what everyone else wants—human or vampire.” He shared a smile with Adam. “We’re not that different.” 

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Adam said, solemnly. He wore an unreadable look on his face and Kris swallowed, looking away to stare at the table. It was so easy to look at Adam and not see that ruthlessness in him; his beautiful face and charming smile hiding the vampire underneath. 

“So your question; yes, Kris, I want you because you’re the kind of person I’ve always been attracted to—all of my children have that same spark of life in them that you do, something magical about them that I see and I want to hold on to that forever. You’re at your prime, you’re beautiful and kind, you’re passionate about the things you love. You’re more than worthy of my attention. I hope you know that.” 

“Wow. I don’t know what to say,” he said, completely dazed by the things that Adam told him. He glanced up and met Adam’s eyes. “But thank you for telling me. I mean, I know it must be hard to be able to share things like that, what with being the city Elder and all.” 

Adam laughed, shaking his head. “You really don’t know, do you?” 

“Know?” 

“Kris, I want to blood turn you and make you mine forever.” 

Kris frowned and shook his head. “Adam, no, that’s not…I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“I can give you so much.” 

“But that’s the thing,” he said, kindly. “The things I want, I want to try and get them for myself. I appreciate your help but it’s my life—my mortal life, Adam.” 

“I look at you and I see the man you are now and you could live your nineties or you could die tomorrow; but in the end, I’d still lose you.” 

Kris took his hand. “But that’s part of life for us. And vampires can die, except you choose the time of your death.” 

“Are you refusing me?” He said, blue eyes boring into him, a furrow between his eyebrows. 

Kris squeezed Adam’s hand and nodded. “I’m _thanking_ you for wanting to give me…immortality, but I didn’t lie to you when I said I wanted to have just one good life. If I go tomorrow or when I’m ninety, it matters to me that I led a good life, no matter how short or long it is.” 

Adam jerked his hand away and reached down to turn the chair so that he was standing between Kris’s legs. He held on to the arm rests and leaned closer to Kris, staring intently. “I don’t believe you. No one would refuse immortality.” 

He stared up at Adam with a touch of fear. He shook his head fervently. “Adam, I wouldn’t lie about this.” 

“Why do you refuse me?” 

“I’m not—“ 

“Do you think you’re better than vampires?” He hissed, narrowing his eyes at Kris. 

“God, no—“ 

“Or I’m not to your liking?” 

An incredulous laugh bubbled from Kris. “Are you kidding? Who—who wouldn’t want you?” 

“You don’t!” 

“I’m just saying that I don’t want to be turned,” he said, reaching up to touch Adam’s face. “Please, don’t be angry—“ 

“Kristopher, don’t say no. Being immortal and being a vampire doesn’t have to be scary. Think of your music and your songwriting, the things you could do, the way music will change after a century, two centuries—and you’ll be there to witness it, embrace it!” 

Kris shook his head, finally understanding the danger that he was in. “No, Adam—“ 

Adam shook the chair, jolting Kris. “The life that I could give you, by my side for as long as you exist—the things you’d experience—don’t dismiss it and say no to that!” 

He pushed Adam away and slipped out of the chair, walking out of the dining room. 

“Kris!” 

Kris ran down the hallway, blood pulsing in his ears as he raced to the front doors. He sensed Adam behind him, a strong hand slamming the door closed as Kris opened it, a firm body holding him against the door. 

“If you run, it just makes me want to chase you.” 

“Please, Adam, don’t do this,” he whispered, trying to move away. 

“I’m offering you a chance to see the world—“ 

“A chance to _never_ be part of the world again,” he said, sharply. 

Adam hissed against his ear. “You can have a good life, but you wouldn’t have to ever worry about an expiration date—“ 

“I don’t want to be a vampire!” 

“Never grow old, never get sick—“ 

“Watch my family and friends die!” 

“You can blood turn them.” Adam said, seductively against his ear. “You can keep everyone you love with you, forever. Your parents, your brother, everyone you love. They can be part of our family.” 

Kris shook his head desperately. “No! Never!” 

Adam groaned, wrapping his arms around Kris, holding him in an iron grip. “You could be with me. I’d never lose you.” 

“You’ll lose me if you turn me against my will!” Kris shouted, trying to pull out of Adam’s unbreakable hold. He stilled, frozen in fear when he felt Adam’s mouth against his neck. “No! Don’t turn me, Adam! Don’t!” 

“What’s going on?” Allison said, running into the foyer. She gasped, watching them. “Adam, what’re you doing?” 

“Stay out of this, Ally!” Adam growled at her. 

Kris turned to look at her. “Please, help me!” 

“Father, please don’t do this,” she begged, her dark eyes wide. “Brad! Tommy! BRAD!” 

“Shut up, Allison,” Adam said, hissing. 

“Please, don’t let him turn me! Allison, please!” Kris shouted, trying to get away. “Please!” 

“What the hell is going on?” Brad said, running down the stairs. 

“He’s going to turn him!” Allison said, pointing at Kris. 

Kris looked at Brad. “Don’t let him do this. _Brad_!” 

“Oh fuck! No, Adam, don’t,” Brad said, walking slowly towards them. “I know you want him—you _love_ him—but he said no. Not against his will, Adam!” 

Adam turned them so that he faced them, holding Kris imprisoned against his chest. “Stay the fuck out of this, Bradley.” 

Tommy and Cassidy walked into the foyer, staring at them. 

“Oh shit,” Cassidy breathed out, running his hand through his hair. “Adam, you can’t do this.”

“Just let him go, sweetheart,” Brad said, looking at Adam. “You’re not thinking right.” 

Adam hissed at him, drawing Kris closer against him and backing away. 

“What’s going on?” Tommy said, standing next to Allison. He curled his arm around her, holding her close. “Adam—“ 

“Shut up,” he snarled, pressing his nose against Kris’s ear. “He’s mine.” 

“This isn’t right, baby,” Brad said, softly. “He doesn’t want to be turned. You have to let him go.” 

Kris closed his eyes and continued trying to get free. He was nearly breathless from Adam’s tightening hold around his chest. 

“Ohmygod, he can’t breathe, Adam!” Allison said, blood tears welling up in her eyes. She reached for Kris but Adam stepped back, pulling Kris out of her reach. 

“Let me go!” Kris yelled, panting thickly. “Adam, please, don’t do this!” He stared at the others. “Don’t let him turn me! Please! Don’t let him turn me!” 

“I’ll spend an eternity to make amends,” Adam murmured against his ear. “I promise. Your life will be perfect with us.” 

“No!” 

“Endless lifetimes to give you love and pleasure beyond your human experiences.” 

“No, Adam,” Kris said, shaking his head. “ _Please_!” 

“Adam, stop it!” Tommy yelled, shaking his head. 

Brad grabbed Kris’s hand, trying to pull him from Adam. But Adam hissed and reached out with his clawed hand, slapping Brad across his face. 

“Damn it, Adam!” Cassidy shouted, circling around them. “Let him go!” 

“No!” Allison screamed, hurrying to Brad. She stared up at Adam, blood tears on her cheeks. “Father—Adam, no! Please, no!” 

Kris let out a scream, uselessly fighting against Adam’s preternatural strength. He groaned when he felt a sharp pain on his neck, Adam’s mouth sucking mouthful after mouthful of blood out of him. His vision started swimming, heart slamming in his chest, legs trembling. He grabbed hold of Adam’s arms and still tried to get away but Adam only growled and bit him again, forcing a throaty sound of pain and pleasure from Kris. His body was hardwired to want Adam’s bite but his mind was screaming no. He didn’t know if he was trying to escape or press against Adam for more. 

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod,” Allison muttered, sinking on the floor and holding on to Brad. 

Kris blinked slowly, his arms and legs going numb, unable to hold up his own weight so that Adam lowered them to the floor. He tumbled to his knees, gasping as he watched the other vampires staring at him, horror and disbelief on their faces. Too late to help him now, he knew, because Adam was draining him quickly. Even if they could stop Adam, it wouldn’t matter because…because…

He watched as Tommy sank to his knees, blood tears on his cheeks, holding Kris’s gaze as he bore witness Kris’s death. 

…because Kris knew he was dying. He exhaled slowly, a warm fuzziness falling over him. He felt his eyelids go heavy; and he was tired, he was sleepy, he was fading away. He moaned when Adam pulled his mouth away, hearing him suck in long, noisy breaths. Kris slid to the cold marble of the floor and closed his eyes. 

So this was it, what a quick death felt like, he mused, angrily. He watched his fingers twitch on the floor and he closed his eyes, his lungs too heavy to take another breath… 

But then there was something…luring him from his darkness. He didn’t want to leave the warmth of his unknown, but the scent was so delicious and he sensed such life there. It was like he could just turn around and go back—but why did he want to go back? He was betrayed—murdered—and now what, he would be a vampire? Kris couldn’t accept that. He didn’t want that. But he couldn’t ignore that scent, he was helpless to the call of blood. 

Kris opened his eyes and swallowed the liquid in his mouth, Adam’s wrist pressed against his mouth. He reached up and grabbed his arm, looking up at Adam, seeing his blue eyes glowing. 

“—that’s it, baby, drink,” Adam murmured to him, stroking his head. “Take it, keep drinking, come back to me, such a good boy, such a good boy…” 

He was filled with such greed, so _hungry_ for Adam, his senses reborn again with every swallow of Adam’s blood. He was so empty and the blood filled him, strengthened him. He felt like he would always be starving, never sated, and he groaned against Adam’s wrist, tonguing the closing wound with his tongue, trying to draw out more. With an angry, selfish growl, he bit into Adam’s flesh with his blunt teeth, ripping through skin ruthlessly to get more blood. 

Adam moaned, inhaling sharply, eyes narrowing at Kris as he continued to drink and drink and drink from Adam, the blood warming his belly, his mind focused only on taking as much as he wanted. 

“That’s enough,” he whispered to Kris, tugging his wrist away. 

Kris growled, tightening his hold on the arm, unwilling to release him, drawing a mouthful of blood into his mouth and swallowing it down. 

“That’s enough!” Adam said, sharply. 

He jerked his arm away and Kris closed his eyes, writing on the floor, filled with displeasure and want. He let out a scream, licking the blood lingering on his lips, crying and shaking on the floor. His mind was clearing and he knew what he was now. 

“I’m sorry, shhhh, I’m sorry; I promise, you can have more again, you can’t take too much, you’ll make yourself sick,” Adam said, leaning over him and stroking his head, his back. 

“Don’t touch me!” Kris said, curling in on himself, whimpering loudly. “Oh God…oh God…” 

“Kris…” 

He covered his head with his arms and wept on the cold marble floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: More blood turning, noncon/dubcon, sex.

His body flushed hot and then cold. He turned his face and groaned as his stomach rolled, throwing up mouthful after mouthful of blood all over the floor. 

“Kris—“ Cassidy said, moving towards him. 

Adam hissed at Cassidy. “Stay away from him, Cassidy.” 

“Let us help him, Adam!” Allison screamed, moving towards Kris. 

“No! Mine!” Adam shouted, waving his clawed hand at her and hissing loudly. 

Allison flinched away. “What’s wrong with you? How could you do this?” 

“He’s not going to understand; he’s in blood rage,” Brad said, sitting up on the floor. He wiped at his cheek and stared at Kris, then looked at Adam. “He’s made a blood claim on Kris.” 

“Blood claim?” She whispered, shaking her head and looking at Kris. He thought he saw something like pity and horror on her pretty face. “Ohmygod.” 

“Shit,” Tommy hissed, wiping the blood tears off his face. “Fucking hell.” 

Brad sighed, defeated. “And he’s not done yet.” 

Kris moaned, trying to move across the cold floor, his hands slipping on the pools of blood around him. “Please…help me…” 

Adam growled and pressed down against him, licking at the wounds on his neck. Kris flinched and tried to move away, but he couldn’t convince his limbs to obey. 

“No, stop, please!” 

He felt Adam roll him on his back, strong arms picking him up. He nuzzled against Kris’s neck and Kris cried out, closing his eyes when he felt Adam bite his neck again, drawing on the blood that he’d just given Kris. 

“Stop him! Just—stop him!” Allison screamed. “Brad, please!” 

“We can’t, baby,” Brad murmured, quietly. “It’s too late now.” 

Kris whimpered, his head falling back against Adam’s arm. Everything hurt, why did everything hurt when he was dead? 

“Drink!” Adam growled at him, tearing at his wrist and pressing it against Kris’s mouth. 

He turned his face away, disgusted, but his instincts pushed him to lick at Adam’s blood. He was so hungry. He grabbed Adam’s wrist again and sucked and drank his fill, looking up at Adam. 

“Yes, baby,” Adam crooned to him, eyes glittering and predatory. “That’s right. You’re mine now, all mine.” 

Nothing mattered than the taste of Adam’s blood. He growled in pleasure, drawing more into his mouth. Adam smiled down at him, mouth wet with blood, fangs lowered fully. Kris reached out and touched Adam’s face, arching up against him, his other arm going around Adam’s neck and clinging to him. 

_Mine._

Adam tugged his wrist away and kissed him and Kris opened for him greedily, licking at their mingled blood on Adam’s lips, sucking on his tongue, and moaning when he punctured his tongue on Adam’s fang, giving Adam more. 

Strong arms picked him up and Kris felt lightheaded, wrapping his legs around Adam’s hips as he carried him across the foyer to the stairs. Kris nipped at Adam’s neck, looking back at the vampires on the floor, watching as Adam carried him away. 

He narrowed his eyes at them, clinging to Adam. _Mine!_

Adam dropped them on his bed and ripped off Kris’s clothes in a frenzy. Kris laughed, letting Adam have his way. He watched as Adam shed his clothes quickly, joining him on the bed and covering his body with his solid weight. Kris curled his arms behind Adam’s back and made a pleased murmur when Adam kissed and licked his neck, biting him hard at the juncture between his neck and shoulder. 

“…take good care of you…make you mine…forever…” Adam mumbled against his skin, biting where he wanted. 

He flipped Kris onto his belly and pushed his legs apart, hands sliding down his back and over his ass. He watched as Adam pulled out lube, squeezing it on his back and swiping his fingers through it. He prepped Kris quickly and Kris gritted his teeth when he felt Adam’s hard cock push into him, long steady thrusts that got him just right. He pushed back and hissed when Adam held him down, biting his neck again. 

Kris arched and whined throatily, the pain sharpening the pleasure. He moaned helplessly, hands scrabbling for Adam’s arm and pulling it towards his mouth. He licked the hot skin and used his teeth to bite down, ripping through skin for the blood. 

The blood…made his delirious. He had never wanted to taste anything with his entire being. He sucked at the wound with a singular focus, not even caring that he was being fucked in such desperation. So when Adam slid his hand between his belly and the mattress, curling around his cock, the pleasure of it shocked him and he threw back his head and screamed, bucking under Adam’s body as he shuddered helplessly through ecstasy. He closed his eyes, the last thing he heard was Adam moaning against his skin, arms wrapping under his chest to hold him up… 

*** 

Kris woke up to the sound of his own whimpers. He thrashed on the bed, the pain in his stomach feeling like someone was ripping into him with a hot knife. 

“Baby, I’m here,” Adam said, putting his hands on Kris’s face. “I’m here, I’m here.” 

He blinked up at Adam. “It hurts.” 

“I know,” he said, petting Kris’s head. He bit into his wrist and offered his blood. “Take some more, you need it.” 

Kris closed his eyes and blanched, trying to turn his face away. It disgusted him to know that he wanted Adam’s blood; that he was so weak for it. Adam grabbed his hair and held him still as he pressed his wrist against Kris’s mouth. 

“It’ll stop the pain, baby.” 

He opened his mouth and licked at the blood, unable to stop himself from _needing_ it. He held onto Adam’s arm with both of his hands, feasting on it, ravenous and drunk on his blood, drawing more and more into his mouth. The pain did go away and Kris was filled with an intense, unearthly lust as he looked up and met Adam’s eyes. 

_Mine,_ his mind supplied. Adam was his. 

Adam chuckled, licking the palm to his free hand and moving it between them to wrap around Kris’s cock. “Now I get to watch.” 

Kris arched and began thrusting his cock into Adam’s spit slick hand, moaning as he sucked more blood into his mouth. His body seemed to spark alive with each stroke from Adam’s hand and he bit down hard on Adam’s flesh when he came, the sound of Adam’s pained groan lost as Kris started licking and coaxing more blood from him. 

“Greedy little thing, aren’t you?” Adam husked, pleased and amused. Kris suckled on Adam’s wrist with a lazy rhythm, watching intently as Adam licked his come from his hand. He chuckled, gently pulling his arm away. “I knew you were going to be like this.”

He frowned. _Like what? A mindless, bloodthirsty animal_? 

Adam stroked Kris’s head. “You’re mine now.” 

Kris licked at his lips, shivering. “I want…more.” 

Adam’s blue eyes glowed. He leaned over Kris and purred. “I want more, too.” 

He met Adam’s eyes and slowly, gracefully, tilted his chin to the side and back, eyes closing halfway in supplication, offering his neck to his vampire father. 

_Primogenitor._ The word whispered through his mind. _His Creator._

Adam let out a very pleased moan and began to lick Kris’s neck with long, slow, and gentle strokes. Kris gasped and closed his eyes tightly when he felt Adam’s fangs drag tantalizingly down his skin. 

“Yes, Adam, yes…”


	4. Chapter 4

_This was what it felt like to awaken to night_ , Kris thought, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He felt like his mind was his own again and he was grateful for the sense of clarity. He closed his eyes, all of his senses alert – he felt Adam’s heady presence beside him in bed and knew he was awake as well. He could sense the other vampires in the mansion and if he concentrated hard enough, he’d be able to differentiate who was who. He inhaled carefully and was accosted by the strong scent of blood and come and sweat. He squeezed his eyes tight and desperately tried to shut down his sense of smell, holding a breath that he didn’t even need anymore. 

And the night…called him like an unforgiving alarm clock, not allowing him a moment to just wallow or even sleep in. 

“What’s happening to me?” Kris whispered, tiredly, looking over at Adam. His body ached everywhere. His neck was sore, his ass was sore, he was thirsty but it hurt to swallow. He was limp against the bed where Adam had left him. 

Adam sighed, moving on his side to look at Kris, his eyes no longer glowing, but still with that same dark intensity all the same. “It’s the Primogenitor and Child bonding. I’ve…it’s not like the movies. Humans can’t be turned with just one draining.” 

“How many times have you killed me and brought me back?” 

“That doesn’t matter—“ 

“Just tell me!” 

“Nine.” 

“Oh God,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “What day is it? How long have I been here like this?” Kris had no sense of time passing; until now, he had known only blood and sex. He hadn’t cared about anything else.

“Six days.” 

Kris rolled on his back, pressing his hands against his eyes. Six days of Adam draining him, awaking him, fucking him. “What’s happening to me?” 

“I know it’s all probably a little weird—“ 

“Understatement,” Kris muttered, shaking his head. 

Adam sat up on the bed and stroked his hand down Kris’s stomach. He flinched away, his stomach muscles fluttering, but the steady press of Adam’s hand eased the tension and Kris sighed, pulling his hands away to look up at him. 

“Do you think you’re up for a walk? We could go to the garden or—“ 

“Help me sit up?” He said, quietly. 

Adam gently moved him to a sitting position, hands caressing his back in firm circles. Kris sighed and then laughed, bitterly, realizing that he didn’t really need to breathe anymore. It was just…remnants of his human ability. 

“Do you need my blood?” 

Kris shook his head, staving off the urge to say _yes_ and _more_. “No.” 

Adam got off the bed and gently moved Kris’s legs so that they dangled over the edge and Kris got to his feet, a little dizzy. Adam held him carefully, eyes wide with concern. 

He stared at his arms and legs, his stomach – every part of him was covered in dried blood. He winced and rubbed at his neck, moaning when his fingers found every one of Adam’s bite marks. It was like he was literally covered in bite marks and blood. He turned to look at the bed and wasn’t surprised to see that the sheets and pillows were stained dark with blood—and other stains—parts of the mattress ripped to shreds and the filling bulging out. 

“I—I need a shower,” he said, horrified. He looked like a murder victim – he _was_ a murder victim! He glared up at Adam. “Alone.” 

Adam nodded, dropping his hands from Kris’s arms. “I’ll get the water started for you.” 

*** 

The hot water felt amazing and after scrubbing himself raw, he knelt on the shower floor, crying into his hands, huge gasping moans that he didn’t bother stifling, the last vestiges of his human life gone, down the drain, forever. He tried to pray but the words wouldn’t come to him, wouldn’t be enough to soothe him. Did vampires even believe in God? Kris didn’t believe vampires were monsters because who else but God would allow such creatures to exist? And what about his soul? He was immortal, but what happened to his soul when he died and was turned into this…this living _thing_ that wore his face and body? 

Kris got out and dried off. He saw the thick terrycloth robe and slippers waiting for him on the counter. He slipped it on and tied the sash at his waist. He pushed his feet into the slippers. He didn’t bother looking at his reflection, not ready to see himself yet. He wasn’t sure what he’d see, but he couldn’t look. 

He opened the door to find that Adam had cleaned up and was wearing a robe, too. He smiled at Kris but Kris didn’t feel compelled to return it. He dropped his gaze and stood in the demolished bedroom, trying not to look at the bed. 

“I’ll have it taken care of,” Adam murmured, softly. 

Kris didn’t care. He wasn’t coming back to this room again. 

“I heard you crying.” 

Of course he did; Kris would not have a moment of privacy, no emotion kept safe within him, no secrets that Adam wouldn’t know. 

“You said something about a walk in the garden?” He desperately needed to get out of this room; every inch of it covered in their scents, choking him. 

“Yes.” Adam took a deep breath. “And I owe you an explanation.” 

Kris jerked his head up to glare at Adam. “I think you owe me a lot more than just an explanation!” 

Adam bowed his head to Kris in acknowledgement. “I won’t apologize for what I’ve done.” 

He gripped the sash to his robe and narrowed his eyes at Adam. “You’re a murderer. You killed me! You—you made me into this—vampire!” 

“You are perfection frozen for eternity,” Adam said, coldly. 

“Do I look like someone who wanted to be perfect?” 

Adam narrowed his eyes. “I regret nothing.” 

“I’ll make you regret this,” he said, clenching his teeth. 

He took a step back when Adam came towards him. Adam held up his hands slowly. 

“I’m not going to hurt you.” 

Kris snorted. “Too late.” 

He watched as Adam approached him, standing close. He trembled when he felt Adam’s hands on his shoulders, thumbs rubbing over the luxurious softness of the robe. He wrapped his arms around Kris, pulling him closer so that Kris ducked his head against Adam’s chest. 

“It’s going to be all right, Kris,” Adam murmured, stroking his back. “I’m going to take such good care of you. You’ll have everything you ever wanted. I’m going to love you so good, baby. I’ll make it up to you; we have centuries together.” 

Slowly, with surety, Kris slipped out of Adam’s embrace and tugged the edges of the robe closer. He cleared his throat and looked up at Adam. “I’d like to go to my apartment now.” 

Adam bit his lip and shook his head. “You’re staying here.” 

“For how long?” 

“Indefinitely,” he said, taking a deep breath. “It’s my Primogenitor’s right to have my children close.” 

Kris flinched and looked away. “Don’t call me that, okay? It’s—it creeps me out.” 

“There are rules, Kris, that you have to abide by now,” Adam told him, a hint of immovable iron in his tone of voice. 

“You mean, _your_ rules,” he said, sneering at Adam. “So, what, I’m supposed to bow down to you now and call you ‘daddy’ and let you bite me whenever you want?” 

Adam grinned. “If you like.” 

“I’m never going to be someone you can control,” he snarled, meeting Adam’s eyes. “You can do whatever you want to me but you won’t control me.” 

The amusement left Adam and he stared at Kris with a look of coldness. He rose to his full height and stared down at Kris. “Don’t test me. I’m your Primogenitor and you need me, need my blood.” 

Kris took a step towards him. “I rather be dead.” 

The soft cough at the doorway made Kris jump. He moved away, leaning against the wall, looking over at Cassidy. 

“What do you want?” Adam growled, looking at the other vampire. 

“Forgive me for interrupting but you have business,” Cassidy said, looking at Adam and then at Kris. “The city Elder from San Diego has requested to speak to you.” 

Adam sighed and then nodded. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed.” 

“Of course,” Cassidy said, nodding slowly. “Do you—should I ask one of the others to come and stay with Kris?” 

“No. Don’t keep our guest waiting, Cass.” Adam said, sharply, dismissing him. 

Kris frowned, wrapping his arms around his chest. “Asshole,” he muttered. 

Adam stalked into the closet, throwing off his robe and pulling on clothes. “I’ll deal with you later, Kristopher.” 

Kris rolled his eyes, not moving from the wall as Adam slammed the bedroom door on his way out. He closed his eyes and collapsed in on himself, sliding down to the floor until he was sitting there. He had no idea what happened to his clothes, but from what little he could remember, he didn’t think his clothes would be in any kind of shape to put back on. He bit at his lip and winced in pain when his fangs dug into the soft skin of his mouth. 

He stood up and walked into the bathroom, wiping the condensation off the mirrors with his hand and stared at his reflection. He looked the same—every part of his face the same and it would _never_ change. He opened his mouth and stared at his fangs, tilting his head to the side and back. He licked at it carefully and shivered at the feel, a lightning bolt of pleasure streaking down his spine right into his cock. He wiped the blood from his lips and took a deep breath, willing his fangs to—to what, go back? 

Nothing happened. 

He closed his eyes and compelled his fangs to recede. When he looked at his reflection, he saw that they had and he closed his teeth, his normal human looking teeth. He opened his mouth slightly and compelled his fangs to lower. He watched, partly scared and partly curious, as the edges of his teeth formed into two long and sharp points. He closed his mouth and his fangs fitted against his teeth perfect, the sharp points pulling back slightly and moving so that they curved away from his lower mouth. 

Kris gripped the edge of the sink and exhaled, feeling his face burn with shame. He wished that this was just a bad dream and that when he woke up, nothing that happened was real. He wished that David hadn’t fallen into gambling debts with vampires. He wished that he never accepted the favor from Adam. 

He opened his eyes and saw them glowing dark amber brown. He wished that he never met Adam.


	5. Chapter 5

Kris grew up in a normal, happy home. He was never abused or neglected. He was loved and supported and urged to find his way in the world, a path designed with God’s blessing. Kris loved his church, his neighbors, his friends—he felt like he was born with a mission. He’d traveled the world when he was young. He loved learning about how other people lived and tried to do good by them. 

What he saw broke his heart, but it never broke his spirit. He saw hunger, homelessness, hopelessness. He _knew_ people didn’t have the same luxuries that he took for granted every day, but to see it and feel it—it made him think about his place in the world in a whole new way. There was only so much he could do, so he did what he could. 

One summer, when he was maybe sixteen or seventeen, he decided to fast for a week to try and feel what it was like to be hungry. He took a little bit of water throughout the day. He wrote in his journal, tried to play his guitar but was either too tired or too distracted to do anything. He sat on his bed and skimmed through his favorite passages in the Bible. He texted his friends. He tried watching TV but every time there was a food commercial, it made his stomach roll and he turned it off, feeling angry and itchy. 

He made it four days when his mom came home for lunch and found him passed out on his bedroom floor. He woke up in the ER and the doctors told him that he was dehydrated and that he needed to eat, but to start with soups and light meals. They kept him overnight for observation and Kris _observed_ that he would never truly know what it felt like to be hungry; during the days of his fast, he was constantly craving food, daydreaming about food, thinking of food. Four days. He didn’t know if he could live a lifetime with that craving. 

The sharp pains in his stomach forced Kris to open his eyes, waking him hours before sundown. He muffled his groan and rolled on his side to see Adam in deep sleep. He kicked off the sheets and sat up, looking down at Adam’s neck. Without even thinking about it, he crawled over Adam’s sleeping body and turned his face to the side and leaned down to sink his fangs deeply into Adam’s neck. 

Adam groaned, blinking awake. “Fuck—“ 

Kris bit down harder, digging his fangs into the plushness of Adam’s neck, scenting his familiar meaty smell, and sucked the blood into him, doing whatever he needed to ease the hunger in his stomach. 

Adam wrapped his arms around Kris and rolled them so that Kris was on his back. He still hadn’t released his hold on Adam’s neck and clung to him with his newfound strength. Adam was kicking off his sleep pants and shoving between Kris’s legs. He didn’t care what Adam was doing, he just wanted more of his blood. 

Kris keened when he felt Adam’s cock enter him, still slick from before, the pain sharpening his pleasure. He wrapped his legs higher on Adam’s hips, thrusting back against him as he swallowed more of Adam’s blood. He withdrew his fangs and licked at the wounds, lapping at the stream of blood flowing down Adam’s neck. He closed his eyes and fell back against the bed, gasping in pleasure as Adam took him. It was frightening and amazing and glorious and disgusting. 

He threw his head back and moaned, inviting Adam to take even more. 

*** 

The next time Kris woke, he opened his eyes already scenting Tommy. He turned his head to see Tommy curled up on Adam’s black leather chaise lounge, dozing. Kris closed his eyes and inhaled deeply—Tommy smelled great; he smelled like family, like Adam. He got out of bed and walked quietly towards Tommy, looking at him. He looked youthful and pretty, his dark blond-pink hair swept aside, covering his eyes. His head was turned, revealing a long stretch of pale skin. 

Kris moved behind the chair and stood behind Tommy. He leaned down over Tommy’s shoulder and nuzzled the side of his neck. It was like he could feel the blood moving under his skin and Kris opened his mouth and bit his neck gently. 

Tommy sucked in a breath as he woke up, trying to move away. Kris grabbed his wrists and pinned him against the back of the chair, tasting his blood, so ripe and full of interesting newness. Where Adam’s blood tasted powerful, Tommy tasted like forbidden fruit. 

“Kris!” Tommy murmured, leaning back into Kris’s bite. “Oh shit, baby, yeah…” 

_What in the good Lord’s name was he doing?_

Kris gently pulled away and pretty much ran to the other side of the bedroom, feeling like an idiot. He glanced at Tommy and saw him standing up. 

“Hey, it’s all right,” Tommy said, walking towards him. He put his hands on Kris’s shoulders, stroking his arms. “It’s okay, we’re good. You needed it and I wouldn’t say no. None of us would.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said, meeting Tommy’s dark eyes. 

“What for?” 

Kris ducked his head. “I’m ashamed of my behavior—for not asking properly.” 

“The first weeks—hell, the first _years_ can be hard; all you can think about is blood, Primogenitor’s blood…and well, he’s my Primogenitor, too, so I taste like Adam.” Tommy said, running his hand over Kris’s head. “You need a little more?” 

Kris bit his lip and nodded, not looking at him. What was Tommy now? Brother vampire? 

“Come here,” he said, tugging Kris towards the mauled bed and sitting down on the edge. He shuffled Kris closer, moving his legs part so that Kris stood right against him. He watched as Tommy shook his bangs off his face, smiling as he turned his head and offered his neck to Kris. 

Kris swallowed, feeling his fangs lower. He reached out and gently touched Tommy’s face, sliding his fingers down the slender neck, and looked at the two small puncture wounds. 

“Can I—may I have a little more?” 

“Yeah. It’s okay.” Tommy grinned up at him. All Kris could smell was reassurance and affection. 

He took a deep breath and leaned down, licking at the marks, and letting his fangs move slowly into his flesh. Tommy jolted a little, but wrapped his arms around Kris’s back, keeping him close. He murmured a pleased sounding growl as Kris suckled from him, making sure that he was gentle. He took just two mouthfuls and licked at the wounds, closing them as Adam had shown him. 

A part of him wanted to push Tommy down on the bed and rub against him. Kris had never been so uninhibited before, when he was human, and never entertained doing anything with other men, let alone bite them, taking their blood and—

“Damn it!” Adam growled, jerking Kris away and pushing him on the bed. “What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Adam, it’s okay, he just needed a little blood,” Tommy said, standing up and moving between Kris and Adam. 

“What’re you doing in here, Tommy? I told all of you to keep away from him!” 

“I just wanted to make sure he was okay,” Tommy growled, looking up at Adam. 

Adam narrowed his glowing blue eyes. “So you decided to offer him your blood?” 

“He needed it.” 

“Get out before I take your head off,” Adam said, clenching his jaw. 

Tommy looked at Kris for a moment and then walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him. 

Kris laughed, leaning against the headboard. 

“What the hell is so funny?” 

He licked at Tommy’s blood in his mouth and laughed again at the furious look on Adam’s face. He couldn’t stop laughing because if he did, he’d start crying again and he wasn’t going to cry in front of Adam. He wasn’t ever going to show any kind of weakness in front of Adam again. So he laughed and laughed; he laughed when Adam gave him a long frustrated glare; he laughed when Adam ran out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him hard enough to make everything in the room shake. 

Kris laughed until he cried.


	6. Chapter 6

“I hate what I’ve become,” Kris whispered, looking at his reflection in the wall length bathroom mirror. He looked the same, but he was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. 

Adam sighed, wrapping his arms around Kris from behind him. He nuzzled Kris’s neck and Kris flinched and tried to move away but Adam’s arms tightened around him warningly. “It takes time to adjust. It doesn’t happen overnight. I’m here for you, baby, we all are – your new family.” 

Kris ignored that remark about “new family” and placed his hands on the sink and looked away from their reflection. And why did vampires even have reflections? Weren’t they supposed to be invisible or something? He wished he was invisible. “I can’t even look at myself anymore.” 

“You’re beautiful,” Adam murmured, catching his chin and turning his face back to the mirror. “Look at yourself, Kris. See what I see. Please.” 

He exhaled and looked at his reflection again, Adam leaning close against him, hands sliding down his chest, slow and gentle. 

“Tell me what you see.” 

Kris rolled his eyes. “The same old face, same messy hair, I look tired and sick.” 

“You’ll always be young, at your prime,” Adam said, tilting Kris’s face this way and that. “You look tired now, but once you feel stronger, your natural colors will come back and you’ll look like a healthy man again. One of the things that you don’t have to worry about is your hair—it’s soft and wild, I love it messy, I love that you look like you just rolled out of bed, all sleepy and sweet.” 

Kris had no idea what Adam was talking about; he was talking about some fantasy guy because Kris didn’t feel or look like any of those things. He snorted in disgust and pulled his face from Adam’s soft grip and looked away. 

“Whatever,” he mumbled. 

Adam sighed against his neck. “You’re gorgeous, baby, and I’m going to devote the next five hundred years proving it to you.” 

“Next five hundred years, huh,” he said, raising his eyebrow. 

“Next thousand years, ten thousand years.” 

He laughed. “If you’re expecting me to—to exist for that long of a time, you’re dreaming.” 

“You’ll live as long as I live,” Adam said, meeting his eyes in the mirror. When Kris tried to look away, Adam grabbed his chin and forced him to meet Adam’s steady and serious gaze. “Don’t even think about trying to kill yourself.” 

“That’s real ironic coming from you,” he said, shouldering out of Adam’s embrace. He shut off the bathroom lights and walked into the bedroom, going to stand by the windows. “Aren’t I already dead anyhow?”

It was night and Kris was restless, like there was _energy_ shifting under his skin. He wanted to be out there – he could feel the call of humans and blood in every single cell of his body; but he knew he couldn’t go out there yet, not when he was this _thing_ that wanted nothing more than to have them for their blood. He wished he had paid more attention in school about vampires and vampire history. There weren’t many in his hometown, only a small number in the whole state, and ruled by a vampire Elder who really didn’t want any trouble in his territory. 

After living in LA, Kris knew that Adam was a different kind of vampire Elder. He was like…like a rock star or something. Humans and vampires feared him, but they loved him, too. Kris had no idea how to wrap his mind around that…that _killing_ him and turning him into a vampire would go…unnoticed by the world. It wasn’t right. 

“You may be angry at me now—you may even hate me now, but how we began won’t matter in a century or two,” Adam said, leaning against the bathroom doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Because for us, we can have all those years ahead of us, and things change. You change, all the time, even though you’ll always look like this.” 

Kris frowned, his bottom lip trembling. _Would it be so horrible,_ he wondered, _would it be so horrible to see the world, which was always changing, grow and become something else?_ He loved traveling, he was never afraid of going somewhere new, and now he would be young enough and strong enough to keep doing the things he loved. 

He swallowed, closing his eyes. _How could he be so selfish?_ He would lose everything and everyone he loved. What would he tell his parents? How could he ever show himself to them now, knowing that every day they would age and get older and one day die, while Kris would exist for so much longer? 

“It’s not as horrible as you think it is, Kris. There’s so much life ahead of you.” 

It was insidious—his curiosity was his weakness—to listen to Adam’s words and know that what he said was true. 

“And I will love you forever. I’ll be there for you, Kris, long after everyone else is gone. And I’ll devote my eternal life to making sure that you’re happy.” 

Utterly insidious. _Evil._

Kris wrapped his arms around himself. “Get out. I want to be alone.” 

“Kris—“ 

“I said get out,” he said, glaring at Adam over his shoulder. 

Adam narrowed his eyes at Kris, lips pressed together in a tight, thin line. “I’ll give you the time and space you need, baby, because I know this hasn’t been easy.” He lowered his chin, blue eyes glittering, his voice dropping lower. “But don’t ever forget that I’m your Primogenitor and I’ll only take so much of your attitude before—“ 

“Before what? You punish me?” Kris said, laughing meanly. He turned to look back out the windows. “What more can you do to punish me than this, Adam?” 

He jumped at the sound of the door slamming as Adam left him alone. 

*** 

It was the cravings that drove him a little insane. Every night, Kris woke up craving Adam’s blood. He realized that he couldn’t be away from Adam for long periods of time. And the strange thing was that Adam never turned him away. No matter how many times they fought, whenever Kris needed his blood, Adam let him have as much as he needed. 

Kris realized that he could be awake during day time. He looked over at the sleeping Adam and quietly got out of bed. He changed into some clean clothes that Tommy had brought from his apartment and then ventured into the rest of the house, sensing how quiet and still it was. Adam’s guards walked around the grounds and they watched Kris with only a mild curiosity but left him alone. 

He spent an hour outside, just sitting in the garden, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face and his skin. It felt like it was forever since he had felt the sun and he realized that he would never take it for granted again. Kris lingered outside for as long as he could before his craving sent him back inside, looking for something to drink. 

For a while, he debated whether or not he should go back upstairs and ask Adam for more; but then he wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge to see packets of blood lined neatly by blood type. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the edge of the cold metal. This really was impossible. 

He shut the fridge door and went to the coffee machine to get a cup of coffee instead. Leaning against the counter, he sipped at the coffee and blanched at the tasteless taste of it. He could smell the rich dark roast, he could enjoy the feel of the hot liquid in the mug, but his tastebuds didn’t _taste_ the coffee anymore. Not like the way he tasted blood. 

He stared into the coffee mug and made a face. He _really_ missed coffee. 

“Tommy actually cried when he realized that coffee wasn’t going to be the same after he was blood turned.” 

Kris looked up to see Brad standing on the other side of the kitchen island. He bit his lip and placed the mug on the counter, letting out a sigh. “I know how he feels.” 

“Kristopher,” the other vampire murmured, coming around the island and wrapping his arms around Kris, holding him tight. “None of us wanted this to happen to you – not without your consent. We didn’t know how to stop him. I’m so sorry, Kris.” 

Kris swallowed, not knowing what to do. He stood stiffly for a long moment, soaking in the feel of Brad against him, the scent of his blood familiar. He felt Brad tighten his hold around him and Kris dropped his forehead against Brad’s shoulder, letting the vampire comfort him. 

“We’re your family now, baby. We take care of our own.” 

Kris shuddered and then sobbed against Brad’s shoulder, pressing his face against Brad’s tee-shirt. Brad murmured against his ear, hands rubbing down his back and patting him soothingly. 

“It’s all right, sweetheart. It does get better.” 

He tucked his head a little closer towards Brad’s neck, inhaling the warm smell of him. He gave a light questioning lick and let out a soft whine. “Please?”

Brad chuckled, tilting his head to the side. “Well, since you asked so nicely…go ahead.” 

Kris felt his fangs drop and he pressed them against Brad’s slender neck, applying just a little bit of pressure until he broke through the skin and muscle, lancing the artery thick with blood. He moaned, lapping at the rivulets of blood on Brad’s skin and then wrapped his lips around the openings, sucking deeply and drawing in a mouthful, two, and then three. He licked the wounds closed and stood back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced at Brad, not really able to hold the other vampire’s amused gaze, and picked up his coffee mug again. The taste of Brad was strong in his mouth, his senses telling him that _yes, this one was closest to the source, the Primogenitor’s blood._

“Thanks,” he whispered, moving away and hugging himself. 

“Tasty, aren’t I?” Brad teased, smiling at Kris. “Almost like Adam, but not quite.” 

Kris licked his lips. “Like you’re just one flavor just shy of him.” He flicked his eyes up to look at Brad, seeing only amusement on his face. “You’re like scotch, expensive, something that’s way out of my price range.” 

Brad laughed, delightedly, and leaned his elbows on top of the island, propping up his cheeks with his hands. He looked utterly boyish. “Mmm…maybe you’ll let me return the favor and let me have a taste of you.” 

Kris blushed, looking away. “I, um, well…” 

“Still sensitive to getting bitten, huh?” 

“Yeah…” He let out a small laugh. “When does it get…less sensitive?” 

“It depends,” he said, shrugging. “Some are just more sensitive to being bitten than others. For you – especially all that screaming that you do – I’d say that you’ll always be pretty sensitive to it.” 

Kris rubbed his face with his hand. “Could you not, you know, talk about me…screaming or whatever.” 

Brad clucked his tongue at him. “Ohhhh, don’t be so prim, darling, it’s not in our nature.” 

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Anyway…can I ask you to help me, Brad?” 

“Depends on what kind of help you ask for,” he said, giving Kris a very serious look. 

“Before all this, I had just signed with BlueNote label to make an album. I was wondering how being a vampire is going to—to—“ 

“Affect your label and career?” Brad took a deep breath. “Honey, your life doesn’t end because you’re a vampire. You get a few interesting quirks in your diet, but you can still have everything you’ve ever wanted. I know Adam wants to keep you close, for now, so we’re going to break your lease and our vast legion of lawyers and PR folks and agents will work with your label to make sure that you’re getting promoted properly. You can bring your things here and take a suite in the mansion. You’re not a prisoner.” 

Kris stared at the cold coffee in his mug and walked to the sink to dump out the liquid, washing the mug before setting it on the drain pad. 

“Do you need help getting in touch with your human family?” 

“ _Human_ family,” he said, snorting. 

“We can bring them here to help you with your transition.” 

“No,” he said, sharply. He turned around and stared at Brad. “No. I’ll—I’ll take care of it myself.” 

“There’s no need to—“ 

“I said I’ll take care of it.” 

Brad laughed. “Rawrrr, claws in, kitten, I’m just trying to help you – and believe me, in this family, you want me as an ally, not an enemy. Besides, daddy wouldn’t approve; he doesn’t like it when his kids fight.” 

Kris didn’t know where it came from, but the sudden urge to hit drove him to lash out and he found himself staring at Brad, who was on the kitchen floor, a small drop of blood forming on the corner of his mouth. He glanced at his sore hand and saw that he had ripped open the skin of his knuckles against Brad’s teeth. 

Well, look at that, Kris was the type of person who could punch someone after all. 

“Hmmm, you’re tasty, too,” Brad purred, licking Kris’s blood off his lip. “I love newly turned blood.” 

“Go to Hell, Brad.” 

“Don’t be so shy, Kristopher,” Brad teased, looking up at him coyly. “He likes it when you call him daddy.” 

Kris left him on the floor, trying to ignore the echoes of Brad’s laughter as he went into the hall. He found himself in the music room, his head burning in rage. He felt like his blood was up – and wasn’t that funny because he could literally feel the blood coursing through his system – and he stared at the priceless instruments in the room. He stalked towards the Strativarius viola and picked it up, caressing the weight of it in his hands…

And slammed it against the edge of the display case, shattering the glass and the viola to pieces. 

Nothing was precious. Everything could be destroyed. What did it matter now anyway?

Kris broke every glass display in the room. He ripped down the instruments on the walls. He screamed and growled as he tore through the room, pieces of wood and bent metal scattered on the floor. 

“Kris! Ohmygod, Kris! What the hell!” Allison shouted, running into the room. 

Kris growled at her. “Keep away from me!” 

She covered her mouth with both hands, big brown eyes getting wider as Kris demolished everything in the room. “Kris…oh God…” 

He fell to the floor, his knees crushing broken glass. The pain of it ripping into his skin and the scent of his own blood filled him. Allison rushed towards him and hugged him tightly, not letting him get free. She was small and petite but she was damn strong. 

“It’s okay, bro, it’s okay,” she murmured, stroking his head. 

“Allison…help me…” 

“You need blood, I can tell,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Come on, bro, you can have some of mine, okay?” 

Shamefully, he pressed his mouth against her neck and bit her, trying to be gentle, and he took more blood from her than he did from Brad. She tasted like well-aged beer, smoky and dark and rich. He licked the wounds closed and pushed her away, moving through the wreckage of the room to lean against the nearest wall. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he muttered, covering his face with his hands. He had never felt so ashamed in his life. 

“Everything is intense and crazy and stupid, I know,” she said, sitting next to him, her hand on his arm. “I was like this, too, when Adam first blood turned me.” She let out a soft sigh. “I didn’t want to be turned either, you know? I was so angry and hurt. I thought I could trust Adam. He was so good to me, to my family. We were dirt poor when he found us and he was such a gentleman, such a good friend to my mother. And then I got sick and Adam showed me what he really was. I was going to die and I wasn’t scared of it. I knew I was going to go to Heaven. But he didn’t want to let me go so he blood turned me, made me one of his children.” 

Kris wiped his face with the hem of his shirt and turned to look at her. All he saw was a young girl, just in her late teens, looking back at him with the wisest and saddest expression in her brown eyes. “You were just a kid.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did you ever forgive him?” 

Allison took a deep breath. “I did, but it took a long, long time. I forgave him, but I never forgot what he did to me.” 

Kris nodded, looking at his blood soaked knees. “I don’t know if I want to forgive him.” 

“I know; maybe not now, but someday, you’ll forgive him. That doesn’t mean you’ll ever forget what he did – not likely, what with us being immortal and everything,” she whispered, leaning close to him. “Being here, so close to Adam, you don’t feel like you have any perspective, you know? You feel trapped and alone. But we’re here, too, okay? We’ve all been where you are now and you should lean on us to help. And Adam knows he did this the wrong way, turning you with force, but…” she gave a little sigh, her fingers gentle on the back of his neck. “You have to think about yourself now; think about your place in our family; find something to do with your life. Trust me, it’s a long life, Kris, and having something to do is going to keep you sane. Brad says that you got signed to a label and that’s awesome, dude, don’t walk away from everything because you’re a vampire now.” 

Kris stared at her, his voice bitter. “You’re saying I should just suck it up and move on.” 

“Well, we’re vampires, we live for a long, long time. There isn’t much purpose in life to just be bitter and angry all the time,” she said, kindly. “You can’t really escape it, Kris.”

Kris stared at his hands. _Escape._ She was wrong, he could escape. He just didn’t know how yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Adam burst into the bathroom and walked to the shower, throwing open the glass doors of the shower stall. Kris blinked the water from his eyes, looking at him. 

“You mind? A little privacy, man.” 

“Sampling blood from the children?” Adam said, blue eyes glittering. 

Kris shrugged, turning so that the hot water beat down the back of his neck, sluicing down his back. “I needed it and they were there.” He glanced at Adam. “What? Now I’m not allowed to take blood from the _family_? I can only drink from you?” 

“Kristopher,” Adam growled, staring at him. “You are seriously trying with my patience.” 

“Well, I’m sorry to be such a burden.” 

He turned in the shower and reached for the fluffy sponge and picked up one of the shower cleansers. He poured a generous amount of cleanser on the sponge and began to slowly soap up his arms, his chest, ignoring Adam’s presence. Lost in the sensation of the sponge moving on his skin, he startled when Adam stepped into the shower behind him, closing the glass door. 

Kris blinked up at Adam. “What’re you doing?” 

“Give me the sponge, I’ll do your back.” 

His first instinct was to tell Adam to get the hell out of the shower, but he didn’t want to start another fight. He sighed and handed the sponge to Adam, closing his eyes as Adam worked the sponge over his shoulders, slow and methodical, over his shoulder blades and down his back. 

“You’re not a burden,” Adam murmured against his ear. “You’re special to me.” 

Kris bit his lip when Adam’s free hand curled around his waist, slipping down his wet skin to wrap firm fingers around his semi-hard cock. 

“Why? Why me?” 

Adam pressed his lips against Kris’s neck. “Shhh, let me take care of you.” 

He was so damned tired of fighting, of being angry all the time. And he knew that he was changing, that he was becoming more uninhibited. Kris wasn’t really sure what to make of that – knowing that Adam was using the attraction Kris had for him to bind them even closer than just Primogenitor and child. Or maybe that was the plan. Kris didn’t know. He kind of didn’t care. 

Kris moaned and leaned back against Adam’s chest, one of his hands pressing against the shower wall, the other curling around Adam’s forearm, trying to brace himself so that he wouldn’t slip. 

“You are such a little shit, Kris,” Adam said, his voice husky and amused. “What am I going to do with you?” 

Kris moaned again, thrusting his hips slightly to quicken Adam’s strokes on his cock. Adam laughed against his ear, his other hand reaching to cup and gently squeeze his balls, tight and hard and hot. 

The sharp bite against his throat made Kris jump in Adam’s arms. He reached back and grabbed a fistful of Adam’s hair, groaning in desperation as Adam’s hand tightened around his cock, stroking him jerkily, hard and fast and rough. His fangs pressed deeply into Kris’s neck and he hissed in pained pleasure as Adam sucked at his blood. 

“Adam…please…” 

Adam growled against his skin and Kris leaned heavily into Adam, arching his back and his neck, needing to be finished off. He didn’t care; he was so mindless with pleasure, so addicted to it, there was no way he could refuse. He gasped and choked back his breath as he came, shaking feverishly under the hot steam, the sound of his cries echoing in the enclosed shower stall. 

Kris knew that Adam would hold him up, too sated and exhausted to care that Adam had shut off the water and carried him out of the bathroom. He fell against the bed and blinked sleepily up at Adam as he manhandled him over on to his belly, pushing his legs apart as he kneeled over Kris. 

A moment later, he felt the press of Adam’s cock against his opening and he hissed in complaint as Adam pushed into him, too fast, hardly not enough lube, and moaned when he felt Adam’s cock nudge against his prostate, his cock coming back to life again. 

Adam offered his wrist, curling around Kris’s back, and Kris felt his fangs itch as they lowered. He grunted as Adam thrust into him and bit savagely into Adam’s skin, taking back the blood he took. 

“Greedy fucker.” 

He heard Adam moan, the dirty sound of slick wet skin moving over his back. He swallowed and swallowed, the taste of Adam’s blood alighting his senses all over again, his cock going hard and leaking against the bedding, slamming his hips back against Adam, needing more. 

“Mine,” Adam grunted against his ear. “Mine. Forever.” 

Kris pulled his mouth away, wet with blood, as he reached under himself to take his cock in his hand, stroking in time with Adam. He buried his face into the sheets, muffling the sound of his long groan as he came, splattering the sheets and his hand and his stomach, long rolling waves of pleasure filling him, the taste of Adam in his mouth. 

He collapsed on the bed, nearly passed out from being so full with blood and having come twice so quickly. Adam was still fucking him, going at him hard and rough, and Kris closed his eyes, listening to Adam’s broken cries as he started to shake and come inside of him. 

Adam collapsed on the bed next to him. Kris turned his head so that he wouldn’t have to look at him. 

“Kris?” 

“Hmm.” 

“I’m sorry this has been such a hard transition for you,” Adam said, softly. “I promise I’ll do better.” 

Kris made a noncommittal sound, closing his eyes and waiting for Adam to fall asleep. 

*** 

It was early afternoon when Kris woke up, slipping out of the bed carefully. Adam snored lightly and was completely dead to the day. Kris dressed in jeans and a dark blue Henley. He tucked his bared feet into his sneakers and left the bedroom quietly, taking Adam’s cell phone with him into the hallway. 

The house was quiet except for the guards, but they were used to seeing Kris wandering around during the daylight hours. Kris found a private spot and looked up the number to a local taxi dispatch. 

“Hi, I need a taxi,” he murmured into the phone. He gave the dispatcher the address to the house and his destination. “Could you put the fare on the Lambert account? Yeah, thanks. Fifteen minutes? Okay, I’ll be out front.” 

Kris left the phone behind and wandered outside in the gardens for a little while, watching as the guards moved across the lawn. He started for the long driveway, taking his time as he made his way to the pedestrian gate just a few feet away. No one was watching him as he left the property. Feeling his heart race, Kris leaned against the stone wall, keeping to the cool shade. His eyes moved up and down the street and a wave of relief fell over him when he saw the yellow taxi moving carefully up the road. He held up his hand and smiled as the taxi stopped in front of him. 

When the taxi made a U-turn and went back down the street, Kris turned to look back at the black gates of the property. He leaned against the seat and let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. 

The short ride to his apartment complex seemed to take forever. He didn’t have any cash on him so he suggested that the driver give himself a fair tip on the account. The taxi driver didn’t say anything and Kris hurried out of the car, nearly running to his building. 

Finally inside his old apartment, he started shaking in a combination of sheer terror and relief. He raced around grabbing whatever he could, shoving everything into a duffel bag. He went through his drawers and found his passport and opened it to check that it was still valid. He pulled on a plaid shirt and grabbed his hoodie and a baseball hat and took one last look around his apartment. He picked up his guitar case and gently put his guitar inside, locking the clasps quickly. 

This was it, he decided, this was it. He was going. He didn’t know _where_ he was going, but he was done with this. 

Kris ran out of his building and took back alleys, walking the rest of the way to his nearest bank branch. He didn’t have much, but he could clean out his account and do whatever he needed to fund his escape. 

He slid his passport to the bank teller and gave her a smile. “Hi, I’d like to withdraw everything from my account, please. Could I have them in hundreds? I’m going to be traveling and I didn’t want to have to carry a lot of bills.” 

The teller clicked on her computer and then gave Kris a surprised look. “Mr Allen, perhaps you’d like a bank check instead?” 

Kris frowned. “What do you mean?” He knew he only had a couple of thousand in his savings, not really worth it to have a check. 

“Your balance is quite significant and…” she took a piece of paper and jotted something down on it, sliding it across the window to show Kris what she wrote. 

He looked down to see that his account was over $2 million. He realized that it wasn’t a mistake. _Damn you, Adam._ Kris knew exactly where that money came from. As if he was so easily bought off, like $2 million was going to appease him. 

He swallowed, feeling his face heat up, looking up at the teller. “Okay, um, could I withdraw $15,000 in cash and just leave the rest in the account then.” 

“Of course, sir.” 

Fine. He wanted to give Kris money, then Kris was going to use it to fund his escape. The teller placed his money into a paper envelope and slid it to him, along with his passport. Kris placed them both into his duffel bag and thanked the teller. 

“Could you do me a big favor, please?” He asked the teller, giving her a desperate smile. “I lost my cell phone and I need to get to the airport. Could you call for a taxi to come and get me here?” 

The teller smile at him, waving her hand to get someone’s attention. A tall, thin man wearing a suit and tie smiled as he walked up to Kris. “Mr Mason, Mr Allen needs to have a taxi service to take him to the airport.” 

“Of course, sir, I can take care of that for you,” Mr Mason said, nodding to the teller as he showed Kris to his desk. 

“Thank you,” Kris said, smiling to the teller. “I really appreciate this.” 

“No problem, Mr Allen. Have a safe trip to wherever you’re going.” 

Kris took a deep breath, listening as Mr Mason spoke into his desk phone. “The taxi will be here in just a few minutes, Mr Allen.” 

“Thank you,” he said, taking a deep breath and walking outside the bank to wait for his taxi. 

*** 

A part of him wondered if it was this easy. He half worried that Adam would send his guards after him and drag him back to the mansion. But no one came. No one was the wiser. The taxi dropped him off at LAX and Kris was overwhelmed with the idea that he was leaving. He looked at the boards and walked along the concourse, trying to figure out where he was going to go. He loved the idea that he had the whole world to choose from and he walked into the American Airlines line, wondering where he could go on such short notice. 

“Hey,” he said, standing at the counter. “I’d like to buy a one-way first class ticket to…to New Delhi, India, please. First available departure if you can.” 

He handed her his passport and took a deep breath, waiting for the airline teller to finish tapping through her computer screens. 

“There’s one in two hours flying to New Delhi, with a stop in Honolulu, Hawaii and then Narita, Tokyo, Japan.” 

“That’s fine,” he said, nodding quickly. 

“Will you require any special meals?” 

Kris blushed, licking his lips. He had never…maybe she couldn’t tell that he was different or maybe she was just being polite about it. He glanced up at her and took a deep breath. “I’m a…I’m a vampire. I’m going to need, um, some blood.” 

“Of course, sir. Do you have a blood type preference?” 

He shook his head, unable to meet her gaze. “No. But I can take regular food, too.” 

“I’ll make a note so that the flight attendant serving first class is aware of your special needs.” 

“Thanks,” he whispered, grabbing at the hem of his hoodie. 

“Do you have any bags you’d like to check in, sir?” 

“My duffel. I’m going to take my guitar case and my back pack,” he said, leaning down to open it to pull out the envelope of cash. He tucked it into his back pack and locked the duffel bag, putting it on the scale. 

The airline teller taped the luggage ticket on the handle and placed it on the conveyer belt to loading. He paid for his ticket with his cash and she handed back his tickets and passport. 

“You’ll depart out of gate 38-D, Mr Allen. The first class lounge is two gates down. Have a wonderful trip.” 

“Thank you.” 

He passed through security and found the first class lounge for the airline. He sat down and wiped his hands along his pants, taking a deep breath and just trying to settle his nerves. Kris kept looking around, flinching any time the sliding doors to the lounge area opened and closed. He knew he was being paranoid, but he was so close now, so close to leaving, and he didn’t want to have to turn around and see the Los Angeles vampire Elder’s security coming for him. It freaked him out that he was so anxious, unable to keep still, and his head was starting to ache before he needed blood – Adam’s blood. 

“Could I get you a drink, sir?” 

He looked up at the attendant and smiled, shaking his head. “No, I’m okay, thanks.” 

“Please let me know if you need anything,” she said, kindly. “You looked a little stressed out. Are you a nervous flyer?” 

Kris swallowed, his hands shaking. “No…well, not usually.” 

The attendant was pretty, a bit older, and she leaned closer to him. “If you require fresh blood, I’d be more than happy to provide it to you.” 

He froze, his mouth opening slightly and he felt his face turn red as he dropped his eyes and gazed at her long, tanned neck. If was like he could scent her blood, taste it in the air, and he gulped and leaned back in his seat, shaking his head frantically. 

“No, um, no, I’m okay, but, um, thanks?” 

She gave him a pleasant smile and stood up, nodding to him in a friendly and professional manner, as if she hadn’t just propositioned him. And maybe, Dear Lord, this was that happened but Kris wasn’t – he couldn’t take part in any of it. “Of course. It would’ve been my pleasure.” 

Kris sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. He didn’t know what to think: a total stranger, offering her blood, and for what, the pleasure of the bite? He couldn’t wrap his head around it. He couldn’t even think about asking someone to let him bite them. My God, what was this world he was a part of now? It didn’t make any sense to him. 

*** 

After collecting his bags from the baggage claim area, Kris made his way to a row of empty plastic seats, just getting his bearings. The hours sitting in the airplane with all those people, the scent of their blood throbbing through him, was both compelling and tempting. 

He was completely overwhelmed by the mass of people moving through the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The scent of incense was alluring; as was the sweet smells of sweat and heat and the fragrances of the millions of people who passed through the modern airport. Kris sat back and closed his eyes, using his sense of smell to center himself, wafts of lush greenery in the airport mixing with flowers and spices. It was an amazing way to learn. 

Finally, after spending an hour just sitting and relaxing, Kris found his way to the domestic terminal and bought a ticket for a short flight to Jaipur, the capital city. 

*** 

The taxi took him to the Hilton Hotel and Kris couldn’t stop smiling, looking out at the city life outside, the strings-heavy music of India pop on the radio, the bright colors of the women’s saris contrasting brilliantly against the high rise steel and marble buildings – that curious blend of new world and old traditions that Kris loved to see, the taxi driver telling him about all the sights that Kris needed to see while he was in the Pink City. He rolled down the windows and closed his eyes, feeling the hot wind against his cheeks, the heat of the India sun beating down on his skin. He could feel everything with his entire body, his blood singing with new life. For the first time since he was blood turned, he felt…happy. 

The taxi stopped in front of the hotel and as the doormen opened his door and collected his bags, Kris gave a generous tip to the driver and assured him that he would indeed visit all the places that the man recommended. 

He checked in without problems, putting down a cash deposit, and called room service to deliver fresh blood, and after drinking several glasses of different types of blood – Kris discovered that he favored O positive – he crawled under the covers and crashed for nineteen hours. 

He dreamed of Adam. 

_“Kristopher…”_

_“I know where you are…”_

_“Silly boy, thinking you could ever leave me…”_

_“Come home…”_

_“Come to me, Kristopher…”_

He tossed and turned, trying to break his connection to Adam, and woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around his hotel room. He was alone; the shades were lowered – housekeeping must have come in while he was asleep – everything was fine. He was fine. Adam wasn’t there. It was just a stupid dream. 

Kris fell back against the pillows and sighed. He knew, deep down, that he would never be totally free of Adam. They did have a deep connection. He was Adam’s blood child. Adam was his Primogenitor and would always be. 

*** 

He ordered more fresh blood and decided that he wasn’t going to just hide in his hotel room anymore. He wanted to explore the city and enjoy the lives of the people who lived in Jaipur. He spent his days and nights playing tourist, meeting new people who were out exploring the world, going to local restaurants over and over again, getting to know the people of India through the same bond of love and music and food. 

On his fifth day in Jaipur, Kris wandered through the lovely Sisodia Rani Garden and Palace, awed by the sheer majesty of the palace and its grounds at the foot of the mountains. He sat on a marble bench, overlooking the maze-like gardens, the fragrant red roses hanging above him giving him a bit of shade from the sun. He watched as young school children in bright colored uniforms ran along the pathways and laughed, their teachers and minders calling after them, the sound of their lilting words floating towards him. He smiled and turned his head, sensing that someone was watching him, and Kris nearly fell off the bench in his haste to stand and run away. 

It was Adam. Dressed in a white linen suit and large dark sunglasses, he looked imposing and unapproachable, every inch a vampire Elder; his Primogenitor. He stood a few feet away, just watching Kris, and Kris shook his head at him, turning and running up the steps of the palace. 

*** 

He packed hastily, shoving everything into his duffel bag. He nearly forgot his guitar case and ran back into his hotel room to pick it up off the living room floor. He checked out of the hotel and ran outside to the awaiting taxi. He looked out the window behind him to see if anyone was following him – if Adam was following him – but he wasn’t sure. 

From Jaipur International Airport, he took the first available flight to Stockholm. Two hours after buying a thick coat, he saw Adam watching him from inside a restaurant. Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon. Adam always found him. Sometimes, it took Kris a couple of days to notice that Adam was there so he kept running. 

_”Why are you running from me, Kristopher?”_

_“Come home, we miss you.”_

_“Have you forgotten that you belong to me?”_

Kris ignored his dreams and kept moving. He couldn’t stop moving; Adam would find him each time. 

_”There is nowhere on this world that you can hide from me, my love.”_

Kris had to try. He had to try!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The return of some old favorite characters in “Sanctuary” vampire!verse.

After bouncing around the world for three more weeks trying to run from Adam, Kris was finally too exhausted to run anymore. He was alternately curious and dismayed by Adam’s constant presence. He was a city Elder; didn’t he need to actually be in his city and run things? 

He found himself wandering around Prague, dazed from the multiple time zones, losing days and losing sleep. He felt old, tired, and heavy; and somewhere in his mind, he felt kind of pathetic – as a human and as a vampire. Maybe it was time he stopped feeling sorry for himself or trying to deny who and what he was and make a new life he could be proud of. Ever since he was a teenager, he had loved traveling and always wished he could live abroad. His parents knew he was a bit of a dreamer, but they believed in him enough to let him try and chase after his dreams. Now he had all these new opportunities and…he really needed to get in touch with his family to let them know that he was okay. But he wasn’t ready to tell them what happened yet; he wasn’t ready to face them. Not yet. 

He stumbled out of the hotel and stepped out into the cool evening, wandering around listlessly for a couple of hours until he found an outdoor café near St. Vitus Cathedral. Prague was a friendly and vibrant city that came alive at night, people flocking to the streets, the air filled with cheerful chatter and laughter, different languages spoken around him. For the first time, he felt comfortable in his new skin. 

He stirred his blood coffee – a robust blend of O positive blood and Turkish coffee served only in Europe – and read through every article in _The Wall Street Journal International Edition_. He figured that if he was going to be alive for a long, long time, he should actually know what was going on in the rest of the world. 

Prague was a gorgeous city at night and Kris was considering staying there for a while; and when Adam found him, Kris would tell him that he wasn’t going “home.” He didn’t know what he was going to do in Prague, but he’d find a job somehow, even if it was just busking on the street. He was certain that he could make things work out. Not to mention that Adam had dumped even more money into his bank account since Kris ran away. He didn’t know what to think about that, but he wasn’t going to deny himself anymore. 

“This seat taken?” 

Kris looked up to see a very tall, very handsome vampire smiling down at him. He had shaggy brown hair and friendly hazel eyes, a little dimple in his cheek. He was wide shouldered and dressed casually in a green shirt and jeans, but Kris could tell that he was someone who was used to authority and not afraid of wielding it. But despite this, the vampire didn’t come off as intimidating or hostile. Kris cleared his throat and shuffled the newspaper on the table, looking around at a few tables that were still open and wondering why he would want to sit with Kris. 

“Oh, um, sure?” 

“Hey, thanks, man,” he drawled, sitting down, long legs stretched out past Kris’s chair. He set his cup of coffee on the table and smiled widely at Kris. “I’m Jared.” 

“Kris. Nice to meet you,” he said, shaking the other vampire’s hand. 

“How’re you enjoying Prague so far, Kris?” 

Kris grinned. “I love it here; it’s a gorgeous city.” 

“I’m trying to place your accent; somewhere down South, right?” 

“Arkansas, but I live in LA.” 

Jared nodded, watching him. “I’m originally from Texas and from San Fran, but my husband and I have been traveling the world.” 

“That must be exciting,” he murmured, gazing up at Jared. “How long have you been together?” 

The other vampire laughed, throwing back his head. “A very long time; though it feels like it’s only been a minute in vampire years.” 

Jared continued to stare at him and Kris shifted in his chair. “Something wrong?” 

“It’s just that…you don’t seem like someone who wants to start trouble, so I’m going to guess that you didn’t follow protocol because you weren’t sure how it’s done.” 

Kris widened his eyes. “Protocol?” 

“Usually, it’s just good manners to check in to the city Elder’s office when a vampire comes to visit,” Jared said, sipping his coffee and looking over at Kris. “How long has it been since you’ve been turned?” 

“Oh,” he said, biting his lip. “Um, not long? Maybe a couple of months?” 

“Who’s your Primogenitor?” 

Kris met Jared’s eyes and looked away. “Adam Lambert.” 

Jared set his cup on the table. “Your Primogenitor is the city Elder of Los Angeles? Why didn’t he tell you about vampire protocols before you left?” 

He sighed and rubbed his hands nervously on his legs. “I’m, uh, I didn’t really give him a chance?” 

“You ran away.” 

Kris was pretty sure that he was in trouble; that he had probably broken some vampire law that he should’ve known about. Jared didn’t look mad, just really curious, but Kris felt like he should get up and run. 

“I could leave. I didn’t mean to—“ 

“Hey, look, no, don’t be scared. I’m just here on behalf of the city Elder of Prague. Do you know who that is, Kris?” 

He shook his head. 

“His name is Misha Collins,” Jared said, softly. His voice was kind, but Kris could still hear a bit of amusement in his tone. “I think you should meet him. He’s a nice guy.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know—I don’t know anything.” 

“It’s all right, Kris,” he said, getting to his feet and cocking his head to the side. “You’re not in trouble. We were just curious, that’s all, and now we know. You can formally ask Misha to stay in his city and he can tell you more about vampire protocol.” 

Kris swallowed thickly and stood up slowly. He picked up the newspaper and let out a shaky breath. It reminded him of the day that his whole life changed; just an ordinary day when he was coming out of a grocery store and vampires took him to meet a city Elder. He hoped that this visit would turn out a little less terrifying. 

*** 

**The Prague Castle**

“This is the home of the city Elder?” Kris got out of the limousine and stared up at the castle. “It’s incredible!” 

Jared chuckled and leaned down towards his ear. “A generous donation from the people of the Czech Republic. It’s open during the day for tourists and Misha and the city leaders ensure that the castle doesn’t fall over. Come on, my husband can give you the grand tour later. He used to live in the castle with the royal family so he knows pretty much everything there is to know about this place.” 

Kris nodded, following Jared into the castle, nearly tripping over the stone walk because he couldn’t take his eyes off of the architecture. Inside, it wasn’t any easier to keep up with Jared. Kris kept slowing down and looking at a painting or a sculpture or a statue. Everything caught his eye and he could hear Jared’s deep, rumbly laughter calling him to keep up. 

He had his hands clenched against his side as Jared pushed open one of the tall doors, waving Kris inside an office the size of a ballroom. At the far end of the luxuriously decorated room was an ornate desk, neatly organized with file folders and a Mac. Three men stood talking casually, the tallest and lankiest of them giggling. 

“Hey! I found him! You owe me twenty bucks, Jensen!” Jared called, hurrying over to one of the men, wrapping his arms around him and giving him a loud kiss on the cheek. Kris assumed that he was Jared’s husband. The vampire was just a couple of inches shorter than Jared, with short dark blond hair. When he smiled up at Jared, Kris thought the man was quite beautiful. 

Kris approached them slowly, a small smile on his face. “Hi.” 

“Good evening,” the third man said, walking towards Kris and holding out his hand. “I’m Misha Collins.” 

Kris shook his hand. “Kris Allen. I’m sorry for—for not, um, presenting myself when I first came to Prague.” 

“His Primogenitor didn’t tell him about protocol,” Jared said, leaning against the edge of the desk. 

Kris glanced up at Misha and gave him a tight smile. Misha didn’t look like a city Elder, but then again, Kris only really knew one other city Elder and he was certain that Adam was in a league of his own. Instead, Misha looked kind of bookish with his curly dark hair and kind blue eyes. 

“Please, let me introduce my friends,” Misha said, motioning Kris towards the other two vampires. “This is Jensen Ackles—“ 

“My husband,” Jared said, proudly. 

Kris couldn’t help laughing a little as he shook Jensen’s hand. “Nice to meet you.” 

Jensen gave Jared a look and then grinned at Kris. “I see you’ve met my other half.” 

“And my _Consigliere Personale_ , Benedict Cumberbatch.” 

Kris couldn’t help the wide smile as he shook the hand of the tall and slender vampire. The name was unreal but it completely fit the vampire. 

“Yes, I realize that the name is ridiculously outrageous for a vampire,” he said, his voice deep and accented. “Call me Benny. Or Ben. Whichever you prefer.” 

“That’s just as ridiculous,” he murmured, chuckling. “Nice to meet you, Ben.” 

“Well, introductions all done, let’s all have a drink and talk over there,” Benedict said, clapping his hands and motioning for everyone to sit down in the comfortable sectional on the other side of the room. “So how do you find our fair city, Kris?” 

“It’s lovely here,” he said, sitting down and looking at the four vampires. He watched as Benedict brought over a silver platter holding a large silver carafe with five small cups. Benedict poured each of them a generous amount of ruby red blood and started handing out the cups to everyone. 

“It’s quite spicy,” Benedict said, winking at Kris. “Definitely a more European flavor than you’re probably used to.” 

Kris sipped the warm blood carefully, the rich flavor hitting his taste buds. It was like chocolate infused blood with undertones of cinnamon. His eyes started to water and the other vampires chuckled at him, sipping their own drinks. 

“Wow, that’s…potent.” 

Misha took a seat next to Kris and turned to look at him. “Have you had a chance to tour the city?” 

“Actually, I’ve been kind of holed up in my hotel room,” he said, shrugging. He met Misha’s eyes and cleared his throat, hoping that he got this right. “I would very much like to stay for a little while.” 

“Of course, Kris, thank you for asking.” Misha said, agreeably. “But what I don’t understand is why your Primogenitor didn’t tell you about our protocols.” 

“His Primogenitor is Adam Lambert,” Jared offered. 

Jensen stared at him. “The LA city Elder? Why the hell didn’t he teach—“ 

“I ran away before he could,” Kris said, wincing. 

Benedict frowned. “Did he abuse you?” 

“He turned me without…without my consent,” Kris admitted, softly. 

The four vampires stared at him and Misha got to his feet, crossing the room to his desk. He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts. He pressed something on his screen and held the phone against his ear. 

“This is Misha Collins of Prague. I would like to speak to Adam Lambert.” 

Jared and Jensen exchanged looks and Jared got up and moved to sit down next to Kris. “Why didn’t you tell me? That changes everything, Kris.” 

He shook his head. “I—I guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, you know?” 

“Then I need to speak to his _Consigliere Personale_ immediately,” Misha said, his voice rising slightly. 

Kris bit his lip. “Is—something going to happen to Adam?” 

Jared patted Kris’s shoulder. “Misha is just doing his duty; you’re in his city now and he’s going to put you under his protection. But because your Primogenitor is a city Elder, he has to speak to him about it as a courtesy.” 

“Brad, this is Misha,” he said, leaning against the desk. “Yes, thank you, Brad. Of course we’re hosting the annual masked ball again this year—no, this isn’t a social call I’m afraid. Do you know of Adam’s whereabouts? I see. The reason for my call is that Kris Allen is in my city—yes, he’s fine.” He paused, looking over at Kris. “I see. If you would ask Adam to visit the castle on his arrival, I would very much appreciate it. Thank you, Brad.” 

Kris licked his lips and started to shake. Misha walked slowly towards him and sat down on the coffee table, facing him. 

“Adam is on his way to Prague as we speak,” he said, softly. “He’s been following you around the world, hasn’t he?” 

“Yes.” 

“Because he wants you to go home with him,” Jensen murmured, flinching slightly. 

Kris nodded. “Yeah.” 

“Do you want my protection, Kris?” 

He met Misha’s eyes. “Is this like me asking you for a favor?” 

Kris was surprised to see such a strong reaction from all four of the vampires. 

Benedict whistled, staring over at Kris. “That just bugger says it all, doesn’t it?” 

Misha ran a hand through his hair. “No, it’s not a favor. It’s my duty as city Elder to offer a haven and my protection to any vampire who asks for it, regardless of cause. You don’t owe me anything, Kris.” 

“I don’t want anything to happen to him, but I do want to stay here,” he said, looking at Misha. 

“Then you have my protection for as long as you need it,” Misha murmured, reaching over to squeeze Kris’s hand and getting to his feet. He rubbed his face and let out a hearty groan. “I can’t believe that in this day and age, we still resort to forced blood turnings.” 

Kris kind of tuned out as Misha, Jensen and Benedict started talking all at once. Instead, Jared rubbed his shoulder and gave him a look that was full of compassion. 

“I know what you’re feeling,” he said, softly. “I was drained and left for dead in a back alley. Jensen found me and turned me without my consent.” 

“But—“ 

“Yeah, we’re married and bonded now,” he said, nodding. “But don’t think that I went into it easily. It took me a long time to accept what happened.” 

Kris flicked his eyes to look at Jensen and found the vampire gazing at him. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and let out a soft sigh. “I feel like I have so much to learn.” 

Misha walked towards him and smiled. “I have a proposition for you. Would you like to stay at the castle and allow Benny and me to teach you vampire protocol and to give you a chance to be part of our society?” 

“Wow, really?” He said, looking from Misha to Benedict. “I mean, I’d be real honored if you did. Before Jared found me, I was trying to figure out how to stay in the city and find a job or something.” 

Benedict clapped his hands. “That settles it. We’ll hire him on to be my assistant.” 

“Why do you get an assistant?” Misha said, rolling his eyes at his _Consigliere Personale_. “Shouldn’t I have an assistant? I am the city Elder.” 

“Why for? You have dozens of assistants and Kris will be bored out of his gourd.” Benedict laughed and waved his hand in the air. “Besides, it’s not like you have any real free time on your hands – and I doubt Kris would want to follow you around on your various political rounds.” 

“Really, I don’t mind—“ Kris attempted, smiling slightly. 

“Fine,” Misha said, sighing deeply. He turned to grin at Kris. “When you need a break from him, just come find me.” 

Benedict laughed and sat down in a nearby armchair, breaking out into a wide and crazed smile. He curled his long legs and arms onto the cushion and let out a happy sound. “I’ve always wanted to have my very own assistant.” 

Kris rolled his eyes and shook his head. “What did I get myself into?” 

Jared laughed, falling against Jensen’s shoulder. 

“So, let’s get you moved into one of the guest suites and settled in. Tomorrow will be a very big day for you,” Benedict said, waggling his eyebrows. He turned to look at Jared. “Take him back to his hotel and get him checked out, Jay.” 

“You’re so bossy,” Jared complained, making a face at Benedict. 

“It’s okay, I can do it myself,” Kris said, getting to his feet. 

Jared got off the couch and laughed, putting his arm around Kris’s shoulders. “Come on, short round, I’ll take you.” 

Misha patted Kris’s shoulder. “I’ll have your room prepared for you when you return. If you need anything, Benny and I will be available.” 

“Thank you,” Kris said, looking at Misha and then Benedict. “Thank you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Implied underage blood drinking/abuse. Nothing explicit.

Kris sensed _something_ ; a weird itch at the back of his mind, like feeling someone’s _presence_ or something; more than one actually. He opened his eyes to stare at his new surroundings and realized that he was sensing the presence of other vampires in the palace. It was a weird feeling – to just know that they were there. 

He sighed, looking around to get his bearings. He hadn’t really seen all the artwork and statues and the absolute _decadence_ of the room when he crawled into bed right before sunrise; he moved up on his elbows and looked around and fell back against the plush bed, a small smile on his face. 

He didn’t for one minute think that he was cut out to live in such an opulent place, but he was going to enjoy it for as long as he could. It wasn’t every day that a guy like him was invited to stay in a castle. 

With a sigh, he rolled on to his belly and sprawled across the biggest bed he had ever seen. It was the kind that was old fashioned with a high canopy and thick velvet curtains. He stretched out his arms and he couldn’t even touch the edges of the mattress. He giggled and buried his face into the pillows, shaking his head at the whole absurdity of it. His life. Unlife. Undead. Did they call it that? Whatever. 

He moved to his side and kicked off the sheets and quilt, pushing back the curtains and putting his feet on the thick carpet. He stretched luxuriously and scratched his head, trying to clear the sleep from his head as he made his way to the marble bathroom. 

The hot shower rejuvenated him and he dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a blue button down shirt, not really knowing if he should put on something dressy. He really had zero clue what it was they expected of him, but he would gladly learn and fix whatever mistakes he made along the way. 

Kris wandered through the castle, trying to remember how to get back to Misha’s office. Various servants and smartly dressed people passed him quickly down the hallway, giving Kris curious and interested glances, but none of them stopped to question his presence. He got turned around a number of times, but finally managed to find his way to the same pair of tall doors, and knocked politely. 

The door opened and a petite woman with long black hair and deep cocoa skin stared at him. 

“Hi, I was looking for Misha or Ben?” 

“Your name, sir?” She said, her words accented with something that was European, proper and distinguished. 

“Kris Allen.” 

“For heaven’s sake, who is it now?” Benedict called from inside the room, his baritone voice filled with annoyance. “Send whoever it is away, Marguerite. We’re quite busy right now!” 

“It’s a Mr Kris Allen,” she said, over her shoulder. 

“Oh! Well, in that case, let him in!” 

The woman cracked a small grin and opened the door, waving Kris to enter the office. 

He thanked her softly and looked into the room. There were dozens of people working at various desks on the other side of the ballroom. Misha was at his desk and he smiled at Kris for just a moment before turning his attention back to the three vampires sitting across from him. 

“Over here, Allen,” Benedict said, waving his hand from the armchair. Kris walked towards him and sat down on the couch, smiling as Benedict’s long limbs were tucked into the chair the same way that he was from last night. “How was your rest?” 

“Great, thank you.” 

Benedict gave him a small grin, hawkish face and narrowed blue eyes staring at him intently. It made Kris uncomfortable and he fidgeted on the couch. 

“So, uh, what can I do?” 

“Well, first we have to see what you _can_ do,” he murmured, smiling slightly. “For now, you’re to just listen and observe and learn. Later, I’ll give you an assignment and based on your success or failure, it will determine whether or not you’re actually worth the trouble to teach.” 

Kris opened his mouth and then closed it, nodding. “Fair enough.” 

Benedict gave him an amused look and got to his feet. “Come with me, I have sixteen meetings tonight and I’d like you to sit in on all of them.” 

He followed Benedict out of the ballroom, hiding his groan at a potentially long night of sitting and listening and trying to stay awake. 

*** 

Benedict was a whirlwind of energy; Kris could barely keep up with him. Kris enjoyed not just his company and off kilter sense of humor, but his competence as one of the city leaders. When the car came to pick them up in front of the palace so they could head to Benedict’s first appointment of the evening, he asked what he thought was a fairly straightforward question. “What does a _Consigliere Personale_ do?” 

The other vampire merely chuckled deeply and took a deep breath. “What don’t I do is an easier question to answer.” The midnight blue limo pulled up and Benedict waved the driver into the car and opened the back door for Kris, waving him into the car.

Kris settled into the seat, looking at the two boxes across from the seat. Inside were piles and piles of thick folders. Benedict got in beside him and closed the door. 

“What are all these?” He nudged the closest box with the toe of his shoe. 

Benedict grinned, a little crazily. “Our appointments.” He grabbed the first folder and opened it, scanning it quickly. He leaned forwards and gave an address to the driver and then settled back in the seat, tossing the thick folder to Kris’s lap. “Read.” 

Kris opened the folder and started shuffling through the documents – legal contracts, an odd assortment of pictures of an older dark haired woman, business statements, financial reports that made no sense to him, and copies of handwritten letters in a spidery script – he looked up at Benedict. “Man, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking at.” 

“Our first appointment of the evening is Maria Fallon,” Benedict said, a small and mysterious smile on his lips. “Be on your guard; don’t let her age fool you.” 

“Okay,” he murmured, looking at the picture of the woman in the folder. 

*** 

Kris found himself pressed against the wall, turning his head to make room for the perfumed woman sniffing at his neck. “Umm…” 

“He smells divine, Benedict,” she murmured, sliding the tip of her nose down Kris’s neck. “He’s older than my usual tastes, but I can tell he’s untainted. May I have him?” 

“Of course not,” Benedict said, slightly annoyed. “And this exact behavior is the root of your problems, Maria.” 

The woman sighed and stepped back, giving Kris a coy smile. She held out her hand daintily. “I am Maria Annabelle Podeste Fallon.” 

Kris shook her hand. “Kris Allen. Nice to meet you, ma’am.” 

Maria snorted ungracefully and made her way to the green velvet settee, sitting down primly and smoothing down her black dress over her knees. “Please, have a seat.” 

Benedict gave Kris an amused glance. “I told you to be on your guard.” 

Kris shrugged helplessly at him and cleared his throat when Maria smiled at him, patting the space beside her on the settee. Not wanting to insult her in her own home, Kris sat at the end of the uncomfortable settee. He swallowed down a sound of surprise when Maria placed her hand on his thigh, squeezing possessively. 

“So,” Benedict said, sitting in an armchair, staring at her all business now. “Why are you terrorizing all the human boys in my city?” 

Maria batted her eyes and smiled. “Terrorizing?” 

“It’s come to my attention that you have, right now, three young human boys in your house,” Benedict said, sniffing the air noisily. Kris tried to sniff discreetly but didn’t really smell anything suspicious. “They are not at the age of consent.” 

“They consented.” 

Kris stared at the vampire; she was older, but lovely, and she reminded him of that Glenn Close lady in _Dangerous Liaisons_. He knew that her face hid her true age and he wondered just how old she really was. 

“They’re children.” 

Maria laughed, shaking her head. “Benedict, they’re all children to vampires as old as you and I.” 

“I cannot allow you to keep these young boys in your charge. They’re underage and you’ve broken quite a number of laws. Now, if you don’t want to be brought before the Vampire Council…” 

She gave him a steely look, all amusement dropping from her face. “Fine, I shall leave Prague—“ 

“Without the boys.” 

“Benedict, they’re mine! How dare you—“ 

“I’m sure I can arrange for the Vampire Council to meet in the next thirty minutes if you would like to continue this discussion,” he said, ruthlessly. 

Maria sneered. “I liked this city better when Brittany was the city’s Elder. She understood our needs.” 

“But she lost her pretty head for breaking our Covenant with human and vampire laws,” he said, simply. “I will take the three boys with me and you will leave this city within three days.” He turned his gaze to Kris. “You will get the boys ready for travel.” 

Kris nodded, sliding Maria’s hand off his thigh and standing quickly. “Of course. Where…” 

Maria rolled her eyes and waved her hand to the door. “My servant is in the hallway, he will show you where the boys are.” 

Kris took a deep breath and left the room. There was a tall man, his white hair brushed back in a neat style, standing discreetly near the door. He nodded to Kris and walked down the hallway to the stairs going up to the second floor. The servant led him to a door and pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked it. He gave Kris an unreadable look and pushed opened the door. 

It was the intense smell of sex and blood that nearly took Kris down to his knees. He looked into the room to see three boys – and when Benedict said that they were young, Kris wasn’t expecting to see that they were probably eight or nine years old. They were wearing shorts and bite marks all over their pale skins. Each boy turned to look up at Kris, but it wasn’t in fear. They were curious and…welcoming. 

Kris nearly gagged at the thought that the vampire downstairs was feeding off the children; that the smell of sex wasn’t from the boys but from her. He placed his hand over his mouth and stepped out into the hallway to look at the servant. 

“They need clothes and shoes,” he said, sharply. “And whatever belongings they want to take with them.” 

The servant gave Kris a long look and nodded his head, walking into the room and opening the doors a closet. He murmured softly to the boys in Czech and Kris waited at the doorway, watching as the servant dressed each boy, fatherly in the way he treated them and the boys were fearless of the servant, easy familiarity and affection between them. The servant spoke to the boys again and Kris watched as each boy went around the large room, putting things into their backpacks. The boys went to the servant, speaking softly, peering at Kris every once in a while, while the servant stroked their heads and smiled reassuringly. 

“They are ready,” the servant said, looking up at Kris. 

“Okay. Thank you.” He waved his hand for the boys to come out of the room. Kris saw the look of pain on the servant’s face. “What’s your name?” 

“Ivan.” 

“What are the names of the boys?” 

Ivan smiled, pointing at the tallest of the three boys. “He is Charles and he is Sigmund and the youngest is Flavian.” 

Kris nodded and then bit his bottom lip, wondering if this was going to cause problems, but he wasn’t going to _not_ say something. He walked towards the servant. “Ivan, do you want to leave with us?” 

Ivan nodded, quickly. “Yes. _Please._ The boys…they are like my sons. I would treat them like my sons—I would raise them as my own.” 

“That’s not for me to decide but…get a bag together quick and let’s get out of here, all of us,” Kris said, knowing that he was doing the right thing. 

“Do not leave without me, I beg you.” 

“We won’t,” he said, meaning it. “I promise.” 

*** 

During the car ride back to the castle, Ivan revealed that Maria kidnapped him when he was five-years old and groomed him to be her human servant for over 50 years, putting him in charge of taking care of the other boys that she kidnapped and used when he got too old for her tastes. He explained that he would face his lack of action in the past and that he would accept whatever punishment the Vampire Council or the human courts would give him. Benedict spoke soothingly and Kris understood that Misha and the Council would take care of Ivan and the three boys. 

Kris watched as Misha greeted Ivan and the boys, a kind and warm smile on his face as he led the four of them into the protection of the castle – into the protection of a city Elder. 

“What’s going to happen to Maria?” 

“The Council will decide her fate,” the other vampire murmured, thoughtfully. “If she’s lucky, they’ll strip her of everything and exile her.” 

Kris turned to look at Benedict. “And if not?” 

Benedict was still for a long moment and Kris understood his silence. 

“Oh.” 

“Come on, Allen, our night is not over yet,” Benedict said, patting Kris’s back. 

Kris looked up at the vampire. “Is this what you do as _Consigliere Personale_?” 

A sad expression crossed his face. “Clean up the messes left by other vampires, you mean? Then yes, this is what I do.” 

“I don’t envy you, man.” 

Benedict quirked his lips. “Get the next folder from the box. And do try to prevent an international incident this time.” 

Kris glowered at him, opening the next thick folder. “Shut up, Ben.” 

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Kris laughed as Benedict wrapped one of his long arms around Kris’s shoulders, holding him close and pretty much just dragging him down the castle hallway. They had spent the last 14-hours going through every single folder in the boxes, taking meeting after meeting, resolving one vampire crisis after another, and Kris was a little giddy and exhausted and _hungry_. 

“Just let me go back to my room, dude, I need sleep!”

Benedict snorted. “You can sleep when you’re dead.” 

“I _am_ dead,” Kris said, amused, giggling as Benedict led him up a long spiral staircase and then down another long hallway. He had no idea where they were going and hoped that someone would make sure he made it back to his room before nightfall. 

“You’re not dead, Kristopher,” Benedict murmured, hugging him. “Far from it.” 

Kris leaned into Benedict and smiled, patting his arm. “It’s all right. I guess I’m learning to deal with it. You know, after everything that I saw and heard tonight…I think I’m going to be okay with being a vampire, Ben. I think – I think I can come to terms with what happened to me.” 

“Not all vampires are as problematic as you witnessed tonight.” 

“Yeah, I know, I get that,” he said, earnestly, seeing Ben frown. “I mean, I want to help people, you know, vampires and humans. I think I can offer something.”

Ben smiled at him. “I commend you for recognizing that Ivan wanted to leave Maria’s service.” 

“I didn’t think he wanted to be left alone,” he said, softly. 

“If you want to talk, I’m here for you. I would like to be your friend.” 

“Thanks, man.” 

Benedict smirked, rolling his eyes. “You Americans, I will never understand why you are so standoffish about discussing your feelings and putting up such a machismo façade.” 

Kris giggled. “Okay, look at me and tell me where I’m putting up a machismo façade?” 

“Never mind, we’re here,” Benedict said, knocking his knuckles against the door. 

“Um, okay, here where?”

“Come in,” Misha called from within the room. 

Benedict opened the door and ushered Kris into the private sitting room. It was as beautifully decorated as the other rooms in the palace, but there were personal touches in the room – framed pictures of Misha with people Kris didn’t recognize; fresh cut orchids; a large dark mahogany cabinet with the doors opened to reveal a flat screen television playing CNN with the sound muted, a messy pile of DVDs on the floor, a Mac laptop left opened on the coffee table, and the room smelled like Misha, warm and welcoming. Kris realized that he was in the city Elder’s private suite. He grinned when he saw Misha leaning forward, dressed in a pair of soft worn jeans and threadbare tee-shirt, his feet bare and his arms leaning over the back of the armchair. If Kris hadn’t known he was the city Elder, he would’ve thought that Misha was just a regular guy. 

Then again, Kris thought, he was just a regular guy with an extraordinary job. 

Benedict, on the other hand, was a modern day Sherlock Holmes or something. He could analyze the situation in just minutes with a simple glance; that all of his experience in life as human and vampire had given him the ability to see who was lying or telling the truth. He wondered what Benedict thought of Kris. He was pretty sure that if he asked, Benedict wouldn’t have any problems telling him. 

“How did it go?” Misha said, brightly. 

“Misha, you will not believe where Ben’s been dragging me around all freaking night,” Kris said, literally bouncing into the room. 

The vampire Elder smiled, waving Kris and Benedict closer. “And I want to hear all about it, but for now, you have a guest.” 

“Me? Who would—“ Kris noticed that there was another presence in the room – a vampire presence – a very familiar vampire presence. “Adam.” 

He watched as the man stood from another armchair; tall, with wide shoulders and thick black hair. Kris swallowed, taking a step back, the hair at the back of his neck rising. 

Adam turned and smiled at Kris. “Hello, Kristopher.” 

Benedict placed a reassuring hand on Kris’s shoulder and Kris watched as Adam’s eyes dropped to where Benedict was touching him. Then he flicked his eyes back to Kris and held open his arms. 

It was pure instinct that made Kris step away from Benedict and cross the room in four steps to wrap his arms around Adam’s waist, pressing his face into the crook of Adam’s neck. He inhaled deeply and let out a low rumbly moan when Adam’s Primogenitor scent surrounded him. He felt Adam’s arms tighten around his back, pulling him closer until he was nearly on his tip toes. 

There it was; that tantalizing scent, just under his skin. He didn’t know how much he missed it until now; how much he _needed_ it. Kris brushed his lips against Adam’s neck, making a mewling sound – please, please, please, could he have some, please. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face against Adam, pressing closer, feeling his body heat up with an aching need. 

“Go ahead, baby,” Adam whispered, tilting his head to the side, invitingly. 

Kris struck, his fangs slamming into Adam’s neck, pulling in mouthful after mouthful of his rich blood, easing his hunger and his sudden intense craving for blood. Distantly, he heard Adam hiss in pain, but all he did was cup the back of Kris’s head with his hand, holding him against his neck. 

Kris moaned softly, pulling his fangs out of Adam’s flesh, licking the last drops of his blood before the wounds closed, tasting him with the tip of his tongue. He sank against Adam’s chest, pressing his forehead into Adam’s shoulder, panting as if he needed air. Adam’s hands continued to stroke down his back, soothing him as he started trembling. Kris thought the cravings had abated, but he chased after Adam’s blood in his mouth, licking at his own teeth and lips for every single drop. 

“I know you need more,” Adam murmured against his temple. “Do you want to go to your room for a little privacy?” 

Yes, he wanted to scream. He did need more. More blood. And the sex and the closeness of their bond. 

Kris fought against the urge to run, to get the hell away from Adam and the promise of more than just an exchange of blood. But the other part of him, the vampire childe that he was, wanted to feel Adam’s skin against his, to let him bite Kris and take his blood, too. He lifted his head and met Adam’s steady gaze. 

“Are you—angry at me for leaving?” 

“No,” he said, a small smile on his lips. “I was kind of excited by the chase. It’s been a long time since…well, since I was interested in the pursuit.” 

Kris nodded and stared at Adam’s shirt buttons. He had to admit that he had liked being chased. “I’m not sorry.” 

A part of him was still angry at Adam, still so furious at what he did; and so afraid that Adam would force him to go back. 

“You have no reason to be sorry. I’m the one who has to beg your forgiveness.” Adam kissed his forehead. “Please forgive me. Maybe not now, but I hope that someday you can learn to forgive me.” 

He did want to forgive Adam; it wasn’t in Kris’s human nature to hold grudges. But… 

“Maybe, um, not now but...” 

“Thank you, that’s all I can ask for.” 

Kris pulled away and looked over at Misha and Benedict, who were standing at a polite distance, but Kris was under no illusion that they weren’t listening to every word; that they hadn’t scented the lust and need coming from both of them. He knew Adam must’ve been holding back, staying in control or whatever, but Kris didn’t know how to hide. 

He glanced at Adam again; his Primogenitor was alluring, the attraction to him still so strong – perhaps even stronger now because of their separation. But Kris recognized the strain in him, how tired he looked standing there with his perfectly styled hair and with his immaculately tailored casual clothes. 

“Do you—are you here to make me go back?” 

“No, not if you want to stay in Prague. Misha’s guaranteed your protection for as long as you want it. I should’ve…I wish I had done better by you.” He sighed and met Kris’s eyes. “I know you must be so angry and confused.” 

“You seem—you’re really calm now,” Kris said, a little suspiciously. This wasn’t the Adam who had demanded that Kris give up his life; the Adam who had taken what he wanted without considering that Kris needed some space. He wondered if it was just for show, but Kris knew that Adam was sincere. He felt it through their bond. 

Adam gave a little shrug. “I’ve had some time to think about my actions and…spent the last couple of months watching you run away from me. It made me think about what I had done and…and I realized that I couldn’t keep you – couldn’t make you a prisoner because I was so selfish. I watched you wander through each city, watched how happy you were…how sad you were. I realized that I had done that to you and…I want you to find a life for yourself as a vampire, Kris. And I now know that life may not be with me. But I hope…I hope you’ll come back to me. Someday. I’ll wait however long it takes.” 

Kris couldn’t promise him anything. There was still so much to learn about being a vampire and what that meant to him, to his life and to his faith. He couldn’t promise Adam “someday” because Kris didn’t know. 

“You’ll always be my Primogenitor,” he said, his voice emotional. 

He could sense Adam’s disappointment, but what did Adam expect? When Kris lifted his head to look at Adam, he saw the sadness in his eyes, at the acceptance. 

“Yes, baby, that will never change.” 

Misha cleared his throat and Kris turned to look at the other vampire. Misha smiled at them, a little knowing glint in his blue eyes. “Perhaps you can continue your conversation in Kris’s private rooms? I think you two have many things to say to each other before Adam returns to Los Angeles.” 

“Yeah, um…yeah,” Kris said, feeling his face heat up. No doubt that some of the “conversation” between them would be done in bed. Kris knew that it was inevitable. His body wanted nothing more than to press against Adam’s; knew the kind of pleasure that Adam would give him. “I just…uh…need to figure out how to get back to my room.” 

Benedict chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Down the east corridor, four doors down.” 

“Oh! That’s really…where?”

Benedict mumbled something about Kris being directionally challenged. 

“Adam, perhaps you’d like to stay and share a meal with us before you leave,” Misha said, staring evenly at Adam. 

Kris wondered what the two Elders talked about before Kris came into the room. He wondered if Misha called Adam on the carpet for blood turning him. He walked to the door and opened it, looking out into the hallway. 

Adam merely nodded his head. “I’d love to. Thank you for letting me visit your city.” 

“It’s my pleasure,” Misha said, his voice friendly but cut with an undercurrent of warning. Kris understood that Misha really meant it was at _his_ pleasure. 

“Okay, well, um, thanks guys. Me and Adam are going to – um, which way is…” 

Benedict snorted, pointing to the right. “East is that way, Allen.” 

Kris blushed, not looking at the other vampires. “Thanks.” 

He watched as Adam fell into step with him as they walked down the hall. Kris tucked his hands into his jeans as Adam clasped his behind his back, a thoughtful look on his face. 

“When you came inside, you said that the _Consigliere Personale_ had dragged you around the city. You’ve settled in very well with them,” Adam said, softly. 

Kris snorted and rolled his eyes. “Uh, yeah, if you mean that Ben’s been making me attend meetings with him to learn about vampire society and stuff like that. Who knew that you guys have so much freaking bureaucracy to deal with—and this was just the first day.” 

Adam laughed, throwing back his head. “I know! When I first became city Elder, I used to wonder what the hell I had signed up for and missed my partying days. It’s like, one night I woke up and found myself responsible for the welfare of every single living being in LA and that was a pretty big wake up call.” 

“I bet,” he said, walking to his door and putting his hand on the doorknob. He swallowed and looked up at Adam, feeling nervous and jittery. 

“Kristopher, you don’t have to be worried,” Adam said, meaningfully. “I just want to spend some time with you before I leave.” 

Kris quirked a smile up at him and rolled his eyes, opening the door and walking into his suite of rooms. 

“Maybe I want to do more than just talk, you know? I mean, it’s been, um, months since…you know.” 

Adam closed the door behind him and leaned against it, giving Kris a long look. “You haven’t taken any lovers?” 

“I’m pretty sure you’d be able to smell someone on me if I had,” he retorted, shaking his head. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to be with anyone else, you know?” 

“I’m not going to lie and say that I would’ve been okay with it if you had,” Adam said, pushing away from the door and walking slowly towards Kris. He cupped his hands over Kris’s cheeks and met his eyes. “I’ll always be jealous if you take other lovers; but I won’t stand in your way.” 

“How come you’re…like this? I mean, when we were in LA, you—“ 

“Because I was wrong. I had no right to turn you without your consent; and the fact that I turned you after you said no…forcible blood turnings are punishable and city Elders aren’t above the law but…I rule the city and no one has power over me. I broke a sacred covenant and that’s something I’m going to have to live with. But you shouldn’t have to suffer any more for my actions. I can’t make you human again, but I can let you go so you can live a life that you want.” 

Kris curled his lips under his teeth and stared up at him. He was relieved to keep his freedom, but he was a little sad because…having Adam close like this made him feel a little steadier, like he wasn’t lost or floundering anymore and he knew that this safe feeling wouldn’t last when Adam left. 

“Do you still hate what you are?” 

“No,” he said, honestly. “Not like…not like that. I guess I’m getting better at dealing with it. I mean, I’m still me; and I’m not running around trying to bite people.” 

Adam pressed his forehead against Kris’s. “You’re not a monster, Kris.” 

“I know that, but…I think being in Prague and being around Ben and learning about vampire society is helping. And I want to help people – humans and vampires. I want to be able to do something good with my life.” 

Kris closed his eyes when Adam brushed his thumbs across Kris’s cheeks, kissing his forehead. 

“I don’t want to leave you,” Adam said, sliding his hands down Kris’s neck and over his shoulders. He sighed, stepping back and drawing his hands away. “You’re perfect for me.” 

“We don’t really know each other that well,” Kris said, shrugging off the compliment. “And I’ll always be a little intimidated by you.” 

“I see.” 

“Adam,” Kris said, taking his hand. “I get it; the ball is in my court and you’re going to give me time. I appreciate that. And I know that we’ll be – we’ll be okay in the future. I just…I don’t know now…” 

“You don’t have to know right now,” Adam said, smiling as he squeezed Kris’s hand. “Everyone has to find their own path – vampires probably more so because of what we are. Not having a time limit changes how we see the world; you’re going to spend many years, maybe even decades, figuring it out and that’s okay.” 

“Okay,” he murmured, nodding slowly. 

“Okay,” Adam said, bringing Kris’s hand up to his lips and kissing his palm. 

Kris licked his lips, watching Adam’s lips as he brushed them over his sensitive skin. He held Kris’s gaze as he kissed the inside of his wrist and Kris shivered in anticipation when he felt the tip of his tongue slide teasingly against his skin. 

“May I?” Adam said, his blue eyes glowing slightly. “I’ve missed your taste.”

“Okay,” Kris mumbled, biting down on his bottom lip as he watched Adam turn his head to lick long strokes across his wrist, eyes still watching Kris the whole time. 

He let out a low moan when he felt Adam’s fangs pierce his skin, the flash of pain disappearing as his mouth sucked on open wounds. Kris closed his eyes and shuddered, the rush of pleasure going right to his cock. 

Adam licked the wounds closed and reached out with his other hand, curling behind Kris’s neck as he pulled him closer, taking his mouth in a deep, slow kiss. His mouth was wet with Kris’s blood and Kris wrapped his arms behind Adam’s neck, clinging to him as Adam kept kissing him, tongue moving into his mouth and sharing the taste of his blood. 

“Jesus, please say that we can go to bed,” Adam husked, in between kisses. 

Kris opened his eyes and laughed. “All right.” 

“Don’t think you can get away being all cool about this because I can smell you, Kristopher, and you smell like you need to get fucked,” Adam growled, which only made Kris laugh a little harder. “God, get your clothes off.” 

Kris giggled as Adam stripped him quickly, like he had ten hands or something, and Kris found himself bouncing on the bed, Adam crawling over him just as naked, long smooth limbs wrapping around Kris and holding him close. Kris’s laughter faded away as Adam kissed his mouth, his face, his neck, fangs dipping against his throat and making Kris whine and throw back his head in invitation for more. 

He heard Adam rummage in his bedside table for something, pulling out a small bottle of lube that Kris didn’t even know was in there. He wondered if Misha or Benedict or one of the servants in the palace had put it in there and he blushed, thinking that they all knew what would happen when Adam arrived. 

There wasn’t any time to think about the magically appearing lube because Adam’s slick fingers were opening him up and then his legs were curling around Adam’s hips as he pressed the head of his cock inside of him. 

“Ohhh…” Kris murmured, arching into his slow thrusts. 

Adam moved against him at a steady, even pace, his face tucked against Kris’s neck and fangs grazing his skin. 

“Yeah, do it,” he encouraged, wanting to feel Adam bite him on the neck again. 

Kris slid his hand between their bodies to wrap around his cock, his palm slipping over the head, the pleasure and tension mounting at his touch. He groaned as Adam’s cock pumped into him harder, faster, the slight burn adding to his pleasure, and Kris keened loudly, coming unexpectedly when Adam bit him roughly on the meaty flesh of his shoulder. 

He shuddered and made some kind of grunting noise that triggered Adam’s own pleasure and Kris groaned again when he felt Adam twist and jerk against him, his hips pushing Kris into the mattress as he trembled over him. He let out a rough gasp, muffled against Kris, and shook in sharp, hard jerks. 

“I missed you so fucking much, Kris,” Adam whispered into his ear. 

He wanted to return the sentiment; if he was honest with himself, he missed Adam, too. He definitely missed the sex and the taste of Adam’s blood. He felt his fangs descend and he bit gently into the side of Adam’s neck, taking his fill of Primogenitor blood. The taste burst on his tongue and seeped into every cell of his body, settling into the pit of his stomach and tingling through all of his fingers and toes. He was a part of Adam, could taste his own flavors mixed in Adam’s blood, and he pulled away reluctantly, licking the openings closed with the flat of his tongue. He traced up Adam’s neck to his jaw, pressing kisses wherever he could reach. 

Adam raised his head to look at Kris, something so vulnerable on his face. Kris stroked his sweat damp hair and smiled reassuringly at him. 

“It’s okay; we have time,” Kris told him, raising his head to kiss Adam’s lips lightly. 

*** 

Much later, Kris curled on his side, looking at Adam’s strong profile. The vampire’s eyes were closed, his mouth slightly parted. “How long can you stay?” 

Adam turned to look at him. “Only a couple of days. I need to return to my city; I’ve been neglecting my duties and Brad isn’t happy with me.” He made a face. “Brad isn’t happy with me for a number of reasons.” 

Kris chuckled. “Well, knowing a little more about what a _Consigliere Personale_ does, I can see why he’d be irked with you dumping everything on him.” 

“Misha said that you’ve only just introduced yourself to them but that you’ve been in the city for a little while,” Adam said, softly. “I’m sorry that I failed in _my_ duties to better prepare you – but honestly, I never considered you’d settle down anywhere because—“ he sighed, “—because I thought you’d come back to me or that I’d be able to convince you to come back to me. It took me a little while to catch up to you because I had to return to LA for business…but I was on my way to Prague when Misha called.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“So…you and Benedict seem to be pretty close.” 

Kris laughed and nudged his toes against Adam’s leg. “We’re just friends. I’m working as his assistant and last night was my first day on the job. Don’t be stupid.” 

“Misha is a good city Elder – a good man. You’ll learn a lot from him, from both of them. I know Misha’s Primogenitor—“ 

“Jensen, yeah, met him and his husband the other night.” 

“I would’ve been more worried if the previous city Elder had found you. Brittany Ishibashi. She was quite a terror.” 

Kris frowned. “Yeah, one of the vampires that Ben and I visited last night said that she liked the city better under Brittany’s rule. Ben said that she was killed.” 

“For collaborating in Jensen’s kidnapping – but that wasn’t the true crime. She was his favorite childe, you know, and she betrayed him and tried to have his bond with Jared destroyed. That’s why she was killed.” 

He frowned and tried to put his head around things. He’d have to ask Benedict about what it meant to try and severe a bond later. “So vampire society is just as warped as human.” 

Adam laughed. “I think it’s a little more warped because of our longevity. We get a little jaded after a few hundred years of existence.” 

Kris considered that for a moment and tried to understand how living for so long could make anyone jaded. He thought maybe such a long life – the seen it all, done it all attitude – was more an excuse than a reason for such cynicism. He shuddered at the thought that one day he would become jaded and looked to play games to find some kind of excitement. In a way, that was what Adam had done when he looked at Kris. Wasn’t it? 

“Don’t take this the wrong way but…I wish we had met in a different way.” 

“My fear is that no matter how we had met, I would’ve done the same thing to you.” 

Kris believed him; but he wasn’t sure how it made him feel. He was flattered by the attention, but he didn’t think it was worth losing his mortal life. He was intrigued by the vampire world, but not when his curiosity cost him so much. He wanted Adam, but not when he would end up hating him. 

Adam smiled. “I know what you’re thinking.” 

“Can you read minds?” 

“I can sense your feelings and I can feel your presence – it’s like vampire GPS, I guess. Part of it is due to our bond, but the other part is that you show everything you feel on your face,” Adam murmured, turning on his side to stroke Kris’s hip. 

“So all those times that I ran, that’s how you knew exactly where I was.” 

“I was kind of obsessed.” 

Kris raised his eyebrow. “Kind of?” 

“I am what I am; I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” he said, softly. “Just because I’ve existed for over a hundred years doesn’t mean that I’m smarter than anyone else. Just because I’m a city Elder doesn’t mean I know better than anyone else.” He let out a sigh. “You of all people know just how truly weak I am.” 

“Time will tell,” he said, licking his bottom lip. “I want to get to know you and…we can be friends?” 

Adam barked out a laugh. He turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. “Fuck. I deserved that.” 

“I couldn’t figure out another way to say it,” Kris protested, making a face. 

“But you’re right, we can be friends. I’d rather have that than lose you completely.” 

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Kris/Others. Sexytimes ahead.

“You’re pining,” Benedict drawled, staring at the newspaper in his hands. 

Kris made a face as he read through the legal documents, reviewing his research in establishing stronger international vampire laws on child abuse. He would never say that he was smart enough to write legislature but Kris was always a whiz at research. 

“I’m not.” 

“It’s been two months since Adam left and you still have a stupid look on your face. Not to mention the fact that you haven’t had sex since Adam and frankly, your pheromones are quite powerful. I’ve had to counsel several _interested_ vampires that you weren’t deliberately trying to seduce them with your teasing.” 

He threw a nearby sofa cushion at Benedict’s head. “Shut up, Benny.” He felt his face flush and he scratched his neck. “Uh, which interested vampires?” 

Benedict laughed. “Shall I give you a list then?” 

“You are such a pain in the butt.” 

“He’s your Primogenitor, of course you miss him.” 

Kris sighed and slumped lower on the couch. “Yeah.” 

“You need distraction, my friend,” Benedict said, folding the newspaper neatly and tossing it on the coffee table. “Let’s get out of here. I want to show you something interesting.” 

Kris laughed, putting aside his work. He stood up and stretched luxuriously, grinning when Benedict looked him over, an appreciative look on his face. “Famous last words, dude. 

“Don’t tease _me_ , Allen,” Benedict growled, narrowing his blue eyes at him. “Unlike the others, I’m not afraid to bite.” 

“Dude, that’s like sexual harassment or something,” he said, snickering. 

Benedict stood up and literally towered over Kris, dropping his fangs slowly and smiling widely at Kris’s surprised look. “I’m feeling a bit peckish, luv, buy me lunch.” 

Kris laughed, putting his hands on Benedict’s arms and putting his forehead against his chest. When he looked back up at his friend, Benedict’s fangs were retracted and he was smiling affectionately down at Kris. “You got yourself a deal.” 

*** 

Kris was amazed; if he could actually put a stone wall into his pocket and carry it with him, he was more than willing to try. 

“It’s called the Lennon Wall,” Benedict said, leaning against the side of the car, smiling as Kris walked from one end to the other, staring at the graffiti drawings and words, some in English, some in another language, pieces of The Beatles lyrics. He watched as visitors took pictures, a couple of them stood close to the wall, fingers tracing the words painted on the wall. “When you told me that you loved their music, I kept meaning to bring you here to show you this but we have been so busy lately.” 

“It’s really amazing,” he murmured, stepping back to get the whole view. “How did this get started?” 

“Back in the 1980s when the Communists had power over the country, the younger generation of Czechs would come here and write their grievances to the government. Over the years, the government would repaint the wall and not less than a day later, it would be filled with images and words again. The wall is owned by the Knights of Malta now and they allow people to come here and write on the wall.” 

“I wonder what was under here, what they wrote before it was painted over,” Kris said, fascinated. He looked around the quiet street in Mala Strana – just a non-descript street off the Grand Priory Square, not far from the Charles Bridge. 

Benedict grinned. “I believe Misha has some photos of the wall through the decades. He knew them, you know, The Beatles – before they became ‘The Beatles.’ He introduced Astrid Kirchherr to Stuart Sutcliffe in Hamburg; she was the one who took the first photos of them as a band. They were all a little in love with her – including Misha.” 

“I liked ‘Backbeat.’” 

He snorted. “Terrible film that. Don’t tell Misha or he’ll force you to watch it and then go over every single moment of the film with a two hour long commentary.” 

Kris laughed. “So how come Misha’s not mentioned in the movie?” 

“Misha said that Astrid didn’t want him mentioned in the film because he refused to Turn her and Stu,” Benedict said, softly. “Well, that’s all in the past now. He had to put aside his youthful indiscretions when he became _Consigliere Personale_ of the city.” 

Kris nodded, letting out a soft sigh, staring at the wall. “I love this. I got to come back here again.” 

“Yes, I thought you might.” 

The next time Kris had free time he came back to the Lennon Wall and brought his guitar. Finding a nice shaded spot by the wall, he intended to play a few songs in homage to one of his favorite bands. He was tuning his guitar when a small crowd of tourists and locals came to stand around him, their curiosity piqued as Kris started strumming random chords. 

“Hey everyone,” he said, slinging the strap over his head. “How’s everyone doing today? Are you all enjoying this beautiful city?” 

They murmured around him and one of the women said, “what are you going to play?” 

Kris grinned. “Well, since we’re here at the Lennon Wall, I thought I’d play some of my favorites.” He strummed the opening chords to “Hey Jude” and smiled as the familiar melody brought out a light cheer from the small and friendly crowd. 

It was warmly received, some singing along with him. Kris was delighted, watching them getting into his music. Some started holding up their camera phones or video cameras and Kris briefly wondered if they would post it on YouTube. He segued into “Imagine” and “Let It Be” and “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Eleanor Rigby.” He got the crowd going again with “Twist and Shout” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The crowd around him became larger and he didn’t want to stop – they didn’t want him to stop either. 

He had missed this so much; missed playing for a live and appreciative audience. He wondered if he still had a recording contract anymore; if Blue Note Records would consider taking him back someday. 

By the time he was playing a hilarious rendition of “Yellow Submarine,” he noticed that his guitar case was opened and filled with Euros and coins. He didn’t even remember opening his case – so of course that was when the local _Městská policie_ found him. 

“Do you have passport?” 

“I’m an American,” he said, grimacing. “And I left my passport at my friend’s home.” 

“Do you have license to perform in public?” 

Kris shook his head. “I’m sorry. I was just playing here for fun.” He pulled the strap off his shoulder and carefully set his guitar against the wall. “I’m a big fan of the Lennon Wall and I was just playing a few Beatles songs for everyone.” 

The two police officers didn’t look amused, but they didn’t look hostile either. 

“We will take you to the headquarters now. You may contact the American Embassy.” 

“Am I under arrest? But—okay. Okay.“ Kris sighed and held up his hands, nodding quickly. “Can I get my things?” 

“Quickly now.” 

“Yes, sir.”   
He put his guitar in its case and shut the locks, his hands shaking a little. The crowd made polite protestations on his behalf as the two police officers spoke peaceably to them. Kris didn’t understand what they were saying, but the crowd seemed to understand and gave Kris encouraging smiles as they escorted him to the Škoda Octavia by the curb. He looked out the window to see a few of the tourists filming him and he ducked his head a little. If his family saw this, they would be so worried, not having any context to why he was in the back of a police car in Prague. They didn’t know he was out of the country. He hadn’t even told them that he had been Turned yet.   
His hands were still shaking and his leg was jittering on the floor of the car. He clutched his guitar case as the car pulled onto the main street.   
“You are vampire?”   
Kris nodded. “Yes.”   
“Perhaps you should contact the city Elder when we return to headquarters.”   
“Thank you.” He bit his lip. “Am I in trouble? Was what I did illegal?”   
The police officer smiled. “Not illegal, but you will need a license. There is a fine you must pay and you can be released.”   
“Okay,” he said, taking a cleansing breath.   
He wasn’t afraid anymore, but excited by the idea that if Benedict could help him get a license to play in public, he’d be able to go back to the Lennon Wall and play again. Or maybe he could play in a bar or a club. He was itching to get back to his music. In the last couple of months, he had made friends with a few locals and found that music was a common language despite any differences in language or culture. As much as he liked hanging out with Benedict and Misha, they weren’t born in Prague and didn’t grow up in the city like his new friends. He loved going out into the night and discovering life again. He was just starting to feel like he belonged.   
“What is your name?”   
“Kristopher Allen. I’m from Arkansas.”   
He grinned as the two police officers curled their tongues around the word Arkansas.   
“Is difficult to pronounce such a name,” one of the officers said, chuckling to his partner.   
“There’s a lot of stuff that I can’t really pronounce either,” Kris offered, laughing softly.   
They asked him about his home town and his travels. Kris was grateful that they didn’t ask him about being a vampire and he was happy not having to talk about it anyway. He told them of the places that he had visited in the city and listened avidly as they recommended places that Kris hadn’t seen yet.

Kris slid out from the back of the police car and shook their hands, thanking them for their advice. He walked into the headquarters and wasn’t surprised to see Misha and Benedict waiting for him in the lobby, both wearing amused looks on their faces. 

“I can’t leave you alone for one minute, can I, Allen?” Benedict said, snickering. 

Misha laughed, patting Kris’s shoulder. “Let’s go have lunch. You’re not in any trouble and we’ve already paid the fine.” 

“How did you know?” 

“Well, it is my job as _Consigliere Personale_ to bail out the vampires in our city,” Benedict said, lips quirked in amusement. 

They guided him out of the headquarters and into the sunlight. Kris handed his guitar to the driver who put it into the trunk and waited for the three of them to get into the limo. Kris slumped on the seat across from the two vampires and made a face at them. 

“Sorry for all the trouble. 

Misha grinned. “It’s no trouble. But if you want to play in public, you do need a license.” 

“I’ve already applied for one on your behalf,” Benedict said, chuckling. 

Kris literally bounced on his seat, eyes wide with happiness. “Really? Thank you! That’s so awesome! And maybe I can play at a bar or something, too? I mean, when I have some free time—“ 

“I am obviously not giving you enough assignments if you have free time to play in bars,” Benedict crowed. 

“Ignore him,” Misha said, cheerfully. “I own a number of clubs and bars in the city, Kris, just let me know which one you want to play in.” 

“Wow—but—“ 

They waited patiently for Kris to finish. 

“Shouldn’t I maybe audition or something? I mean, you guys don’t know, I could totally suck or something.” 

Benedict pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen. A moment later, Kris heard his voice singing “Hey Jude” and he laughed as Benedict turned the phone around to show a video of him at the Lennon Wall. “It appears you’ve already earned 112,000 hits on this video.” He paused, showing Misha the video. “All in all, not bad, Allen.” Benedict smirked. “And all of the comments say that you’re cute. But you did get 14 dislikes so don’t let your YouTube fame go to your head.” 

Misha considered it. “I think you’ll like Café Noel. It fits your musical style.” 

Kris laughed at the absurdity of his life. He fell against the seat and gazing at the two vampires. “You know, I love you guys, right?” 

Benedict rolled his eyes and snorted as Misha gave him a pleased smile. 

“I’m happy that you’re settling into the city, Kris,” Misha murmured, kindly. “And I hope you’ll stay a little while longer.” 

Kris had no doubt that he would stay and it made him feel good and safe to have a place. It wasn’t home, but it felt like a second family. “Definitely a while longer.” 

*** 

If Benedict was Kris’s closest friend, then Jared was Kris’s partner in crime. Jared and Jensen lived on a gorgeous estate outside of the city but they also stayed at the castle for weeks at a time until they disappeared to their country home for privacy. 

So whenever Jensen and Jared were at the castle, Jared would inevitably steal Kris away and the two of them would go out and come back by dawn, drunk on blood and alcohol, laughing and falling over each other. Jared carried Kris to his room while Kris slurred and sang summer camp songs from his childhood years. 

“Being a vampire is kind of fun,” Kris observed as Jared dropped him on his bed and started pulling off his battered sneakers and socks, tickling the soles of his feet and making Kris crack up. 

“What about it is fun?” Jared started tugging on the covers and turning Kris on his side so that he could pull the covers down the bed to cover him up and tuck him in. 

Kris snickered, watching how he was cocooned in the covers. “Dude! How am I supposed to breathe?” 

“You’re a vampire, you don’t really need to breathe,” Jared said, giggling. 

“I really like the taste of blood,” Kris said, sighing deeply. “Well, blood tastes the same, but it’s like they have their own flavor…or spice?” 

“It tastes even better when you drink it from the source.” 

Kris made a face. “I’m not really ready to…to drink from donors, you know? I mean, I’ve taken blood from Adam and…the family, but…I don’t think I can take it from humans.” 

“Even if they’re willing?” 

“I don’t know,” he murmured, shrugging slightly. “Why am I so drunk?” 

Jared dropped on the bed, propping his chin on his hands as he grinned at Kris. “You drank a lot of blood. Sometimes, when you drink too much blood, you get a little blood high.” 

Kris frowned. “But that’s so stupid! We’re vampires! How can we drink too much blood?” 

Jared laughed. “Fuck you, my bar bill was three thousand Euros!” 

“Oh,” Kris said, cocking his head on his pillow trying to imagine just how much three thousand Euros worth of blood was – did he really have that much blood? “I can pay you back.” 

Jared snickered. 

“I have a lot of money now. Adam gave it to me.” 

He watched as Jared moved up on the bed, curling on his side to face Kris. “Yeah, you’ll probably get a whole hell of a lot more later when Adam does his formal introduction of you to the rest of his family.” 

“I think I met them already,” he said, taking a deep breath. “They watched me get Turned, you know. They tried to stop Adam but…” 

“They couldn’t,” Jared murmured, softly. “Because Adam was probably in blood rage.” 

“Yeah,” he said, nodding slowly. “So what kind of stuff did you get?” 

“Money, artwork, properties – things that I’ll need for my long lifetime.” Jared snickered and patted Kris’s stomach. “Most of them were sucking up to me because they knew that I was Jensen’s favorite. You should’ve seen what they did when they found out that I was in Jensen’s human bloodline.” 

Kris chewed on his lip. “So…you’re part of Jensen’s human family and he’s your Primogenitor and you guys are married…how the hell did that happen?” 

“Don’t ask, I don’t have a clue,” he said, laughing. 

“Benedict said that you were a city Elder, too.” 

“Retired.” 

Kris turned his head and looked at Jared. “You didn’t like it?” 

“I did, but it was so much work. I learned a lot and I helped a lot of people, but it was a lonely existence. It’s like what they say is true – it gets lonely at the top.” 

Kris managed to get one of his arms from under the covers and reached over to pet Jared’s hair. “Yeah, I get it now.” He blinked slowly and took a deep breath. “Do you have any children of your own?” 

“I’ve never Turned anyone.” 

“Ever?” 

Jared chuckled. “Don’t think I haven’t been tempted. I have! Many times. But, I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love Jensen so…what’s the point? And honestly, I inherited all of Jensen’s children and that’s enough for me.” 

“But…what if you met someone, a human and…you…you lost control and…you Turned them and…things were weird.” 

Jared reached out and took Kris’s hand, squeezing it tightly. Kris closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the affection and love. 

“Never say that it won’t happen. You’ll be tempted, too. There’s something powerful in us, instinct or a strong sense of survival that drives us to create and mate and want. Vampires have heightened senses, but that means that our emotions are pretty intense. Keeping control over our instincts gives us our humanity, but we’re not perfect. The temptation to Turn a human – someone who is beautiful and perfect for us, in that moment – it’s hard to face that and turn away from it. Immortality is lonely, Kris, and we feel love and loss like no other living being.” 

Kris felt his eyes water and he blinked the wetness away. “Yeah.” 

Jared moved up on his elbow and pressed a sloppy and wet kiss on Kris’s forehead, making him laugh. “It’s sun up, try to get some sleep, short round.” 

Kris looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks, Jay, for everything.” 

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure things out. And you have lots of friends that will help you,” Jared said, getting off the bed and stretching out his back. “Damn, I think I caught a second wind. I’m going to wake up my baby and see if he wants to have sex and then crash. Do not wake me up before night fall.” 

“Perv,” he called, watching as Jared gave him the finger, walking to his bedroom door. He shut it gently, enclosing Kris in his large room. 

Kris stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how he felt about Adam. When he was alone like this, when the house was quiet, he often thought of Adam. Benedict was right, Kris was pining and missing his Primogenitor. He knew it would be so easy to just go back to LA. He knew that Adam would welcome him happily and give him the world. 

The idea of such intense connection scared him though. He wasn’t ready to open himself up like that and be so vulnerable. He didn’t think Adam would intentionally hurt him, but Kris wasn’t sure he could trust Adam with his heart. 

“Time will tell,” he whispered to his room. 

Adam said that Kris’s life may not even be with him, but deep down, Kris thought that it probably was. The romantic in him thought it felt like destiny, but the realist thought it was maybe inevitability. But that was a long, long time down the road. Adam said he would wait, but Kris didn’t think he should. They were immortals and they had all the time in the world. He was tired of being alone and lonely; he knew Adam must feel the same way. There was no point carrying on their misery like this. He thought he would call Adam later and tell him to find some happiness for himself; that if Kris came back to Adam, they would be able to start over. They had time and time would tell. 

*** 

“Your lack of culture makes me want to cry,” Misha complained, looking over at Kris with a critical eye. 

“I got culture.” Kris fidgeted and gave a shrug, the tailored shoulders of his tuxedo restricting the movement. Apparently, men in tuxedos weren’t supposed to shrug. “Why are you taking me to the ballet? Ballet, Misha. Ballet.” 

“The Prague Royal Ballet is world renowned,” the city Elder said, making a face at him. “We always make an appearance when the season begins.” 

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Benedict called, strolling into Kris’s room looking immaculate in his black tuxedo, the unruly waves of his black hair smoothed down. “You clean up very well, Allen.” 

Kris snorted and rolled his eyes. “You guys know that I’m going to probably fall asleep and start snoring.” 

“Do not embarrass me, Kristopher, or you will pay,” Misha warned, glaring at him as Benedict laughed. 

“Fine,” he muttered, grinning at them. “I’ll play Angry Birds if I get bored and I’ll even keep the volume off.” 

Misha tilted back his head and stared at the ceiling. “Why do I put up with the two of you, I don’t even know.” 

“Hey, why am I included in that? I have not once complained of attending the ballet with you or any other pretentious city event that requires our presence,” Benedict said, making a face at Misha. 

The city Elder smiled at them. “Exactly.” 

“What the hell does that mean?” Benedict yelled, following after Misha into the hallway. 

Kris grinned, taking one last look at himself in the mirror and shaking his head. Ballet. Seriously? 

*** 

The Prague Royal Ballet’s premier performance of the season was “Swan Lake.” Kris vaguely remembered the story – his mom loved it and tried to explain the story to him once – something about a cursed princess and a white swan and a black swan and one of them died. Or something like that. 

They settled into their private balcony seats overlooking the stage and Kris felt the same vibe coming from the excited members of the audience. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking a moment to just enjoy the scent of blood in the room. Benedict and Misha said that Kris’s control over his need for blood was unusual in a new vampire. At first, they were concerned that maybe Kris wasn’t drinking enough blood, but when he assured them that he drank plenty of blood every day, they were impressed with his control. Though, there were days when Kris had a hard time dealing with the scent of blood and he retreated to the safety of his room and worked on a song. 

The lights flickered on and off and started to dim; the audience settling down quickly and silence filling the room. 

The orchestra started up and the curtains parted. Kris leaned forward in his seat, staring down at the stage. The costumes were beautiful, the dancers were perfect, the lights were subtle – it was so dreamlike and romantic. 

Kris caught his breath when the princess made her first appearance. She was lovely with dark hair, all long limbed and grace. He licked his lips, feeling his body heat up and his cock throb and harden. He stared at the prima ballerina as she twirled into her role, but he had to close his eyes when he caught the scent of her blood, like marzipan and sweet rolls. 

He opened his eyes again and stared at her. And for just a moment, while she tilted her face towards the balcony, he thought she opened her eyes to look right at him. 

At the intermission, he opened the program and stared at her face, his fingers tracing her name: 

Kathrin Romary. 

He turned to Misha, not caring that he was interrupting his conversation with Benedict, and said, in all seriousness, “I need to meet her. Can you get me backstage?” 

Misha grinned. “Of course.” 

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Language, sex, het, slash, violence, blood, off-screen child abuse/death
> 
> Author’s Note: Kris/Kate

 

Kris was full of nervous energy as they walked through the chaotic backstage area of the theater, smiling as he followed Misha and Benedict past dancers, stage hands, family and friends of the performers, a handful of media, and lucky fans. Many of them recognized Misha and Benedict, stopping to shake their hands and offer their greetings. One of the assistants stopped at a door and knocked on it. A woman’s voice called out to enter and Benedict stood outside the doorway, smirking at Kris and waving him inside first.

 

“Misha,” the woman said, standing from her make up table to hug the city Elder. She was a few inches shorter than him, but she was slim and strong, with well-defined arms and legs. She was still wearing her swan costume and a pair of fluffy pink socks. “I’m so glad you made it.”

 

Kris looked around the small dressing room so he wouldn’t stare at the ballerina. Every surface was covered with large bouquets of flowers and Kris bit his lip, wondering how he was ever going to compete for her attention with all of her admirers.

 

“You were marvelous, Kate,” Misha said, kissing her cheeks.

 

“Thank you.” She laughed and rolled her eyes. “I suppose you’re the one who filled my dressing room with all these flowers.”

 

“Guilty as charged,” he murmured, stepping aside to look at Benedict and Kris. “You remember my _Consigliere Personale_.”

 

“Hi, Benny,” she said, giving him a hug and smiling up at him. “Thanks for coming.”

 

“I wouldn’t miss your premiere show,” Benedict said, solemnly.

 

“May I introduce our new friend, Kristopher Allen, from the States,” Misha said, winking at Kris. “Kris, this is Kathrin Romary.”

 

She reached for his hand and smiled, her dark eyes looked even larger due to her stage make up. “Call me Kate.”

 

“Kris,” he said, looking at her. She was even more beautiful up close; and the scent of her blood was all the more alluring because he could sense her kindness. “You were wonderful.”

 

Kate chuckled. “Thank you.” She gave his hand a squeeze and released him slowly. “So, the boys dragged you to your first ballet?”

 

“How did you know?”

 

“You have that slightly bored but startled look on your face,” she said, warmly. She tucked her hands on her hips and turned to Misha. “Have you talked to Josef? You know how he loves every chance to kiss up to you.”

 

“He was busy with his admirers,” he said, chuckling.

 

Kris frowned slightly. Who was Josef? And why would he kiss up to Misha?

 

“Josef de Guarin is the theater director,” Benedict said to Kris, smirking at the look on Kris’s face. “Misha’s always been a generous patron to the theater.” He walked to the door, opening it. “Misha, why don’t we go find him and say our hellos? We’ll never hear the end of it if we leave without seeing him.”

 

“Good idea,” Misha said, and then gave Kate a kiss on the cheek. “It was one of your best performances. Come to the castle and visit us when you have free time.”

 

“Sure,” she said, watching as Misha and Benedict walked to the door. She looked at Kris and Kris gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

 

“Oh, yeah, you probably want to get changed and get home to rest and—“

 

“Actually, why don’t you keep me company for a few minutes while I take my make up off?” Kate said, giving Misha and Benedict a knowing grin. “Now, both of you, shoo. Good deed done and all, thank you, and good night. Kris and I are going to get to know each other better.”

 

Kris’s eyes widened as Misha closed the door, Benny making faces over Misha’s shoulder at Kris, leaving just the two of them alone in the small, flower-filled dressing room. He turned to look at Kate and raised his eyebrows.

 

“So…”

 

“Give me one second to get out of this,” she said, flouncing her wide tutu with her hands and darting behind a privacy wall.

 

“I could step out or—“

 

“Don’t worry about it,” she called, snorting. “One of the things that you learn very quickly is the quick costume change in front of people; you lose your sense of modesty quite fast in this business.”

 

He turned away, looking at the various pictures and sentimental tokens tucked along the make up mirror, grinning at the assortment of photographs of Kate with her friends, mugging for the camera and making silly faces.

 

“So what did you really think of the show?”

 

“Honestly, I liked it a lot,” he said, putting his hands into his pants pockets. “I haven’t been to a ballet before and…it was interesting.”

 

“You don’t have to tell me that you liked it if you didn’t. I won’t be offended,” she called, coming from behind the privacy wall wearing a long robe.

 

Kris smiled. “Well, I didn’t get everything but I loved the music and I liked the dancing. You dance beautifully.”

 

She nodded her acceptance of his compliment and they stared at each other for a long moment. Kris felt himself blush and he looked away quickly, tapping his fingers against his legs. He watched as she sat down at her make up table, reaching up to undo the tight bun of hair, long dark waves fell down past her shoulders and she picked up a hairbrush and began to brush her hair and pulled it into a loose ponytail.

 

“So, um, you’re not native of Prague,” he said, keeping his hand clenched in a fist so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and touch her hair. “Your accent…are you from the UK?”

 

“I am,” she said, looking at him in the mirror and picking up what looked like wet napkins. She scrubbed her face brusquely, tossing the used napkin into the trash and grabbing another. “I was born in London. And you? I hear a bit of a Southern accent.”

 

He walked closer to her and leaned against the side of her make up table, intrigued by what she looked like under the make up. He was pleased that she felt comfortable with him to let him watch. “I’m from Conway, Arkansas.”

 

“Conway. Is that a large city?”

 

“Hardly,” he said, chuckling. “It’s a nice city; there’s a great downtown area.”

 

Kate grinned and tilted her face up towards him, wiping the make up from her eyes next. Kris wasn’t surprised to see that she was even more beautiful without the make up, her skin healthy and warm under the white make up, the arch of her smooth, bared neck and the flex of muscles and arteries and—he looked away, blushing hotly. How was it that she smelled so _delicious_? It was… _doing_ things to him, making the fangs tucked up in his mouth ache to descend.

 

“I’m not familiar with the Southern states; I’ve danced in a number of theaters in the States, mostly on the east coast.” She tossed it in the trash and raised her eyebrow at him. “So, Kris, Misha and Benedict don’t normally bring someone to meet me back stage, so there must be a reason why you’re here.”

 

He took a deep breath and smiled, nodding his head. “Yeah, I, uh, wanted to meet you and tell you that I thought you were wonderful…and…I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me when you have a free evening.”

 

“I’d love to,” she said, softly. “I don’t perform on Monday nights.” She picked up a make up pencil and reached out, grabbing Kris’s hand and turning it, writing her telephone number on his wrist. “Call me and you can pick me up.”

 

“Thanks,” he said, looking at the number and memorizing it. He turned and held her hand, leaning down to press a gentlemanly kiss on the back of her hand.

 

Kate chuckled and Kris could tell that she found it kind of silly but she was charmed by it.

 

“You’re probably tired so I’ll get out of here,” he murmured, letting her hand go.

 

She turned in her chair, watching as he walked to the door.   

 

“You really were great out there tonight,” he said, motioning with his head towards the front of the theater.

 

“Well, then, you must come and watch the performance again very soon.”

 

“I will. Have a good night.”

 

“Good night, Kris.”

 

***

 

Misha and Benedict wore matching shit-eating grins when Kris slipped into the back of the limo. He sat down across from them and scowled.

 

“What?”

 

“You got pretty hot under the collar over Kate,” Misha murmured, chuckling. “Was that the first time that your vampire senses came online, so to speak?”

 

He licked his lips and ducked his head. “Yeah. I—I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen.” He glanced up and Misha and Benedict. “I guess I know what it’s like to, um, sense someone.”

 

It made him think about Adam; how Adam must’ve felt when he first scented Kris. Not that it excused what Adam did to him, but…Kris had a better understanding. It was instinctual, yes, but he was determined not to let it overwhelm him.

 

“You _can_ learn to control it,” Misha said, softly.

 

Kris heard the implication: _learn to control it or pay the consequences_.

 

“I will.”

 

“Misha and I were just discussing the fact that you really don’t have game, Kris,” Benedict said, tartly.

 

“I don’t know, Ben, he looks like a man who got what he wanted.”

 

“Shut up both of you,” he groused, rolling his eyes.

 

“Well, did you at least get her number?” Benedict said, arching his eyebrow.

 

Kris smirked and held up his hand, pulling down the sleeve to show them that yes, he did get her number. “And a date for Monday night.”

 

“You bloody dog,” Benedict said, laughing as he clapped his hands. He turned to Misha with a smirk. “You owe me ten thousand Euros.”

 

“What!” Kris said, staring at them. “You bet on whether or not I’d get a date with Kate? Dude!”

 

Misha sighed and rolled his eyes, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out his wallet. He tossed it to Benedict and gave Kris a mock angry glare.

 

“You bet _against_ me?” Kris said, eyes widening. He laughed, sitting back on his seat. “Well, then you deserve to lose your money.”

 

Benedict gleefully took a number of bills from Misha’s wallet and tucked the money into his pocket, giving Misha back his wallet.

 

“It’s only money after all,” Benedict said, shrugging. “What do we care? We’re vampires.”

 

“ _Only_ money—whatever, man.” He couldn’t stop smiling, blushing hotly as he looked out the window. “Seriously, I’m never this lucky. She’s a prima ballerina! What the heck am I going to do on a date with her? I’m just a guy from a small town – you guys have to help me set something up, something classy and – and I want to borrow the limo and—“

 

“Slow down, Kris,” Misha said, smiling widely. “Benny and I will recommend some wonderful restaurants and suggest some activities that you and Kate will enjoy. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. Even with Adam you weren’t…”

 

Misha and Benedict exchanged glances and Kris shrugged, helplessly. He didn’t know how to define his “relationship” with Adam either. He knew that his bond with his Primogenitor would always be a part of his existence, but Kris wasn’t ready to move on with Adam in the way that Adam wanted. He needed to…sort himself out and the fact that he was attracted to someone – _a human_ – would help him figure out what he wanted.

 

Kris bit his lip and stared at the floor of the limo. “Yes, well, Adam and I…that’s completely different. It’s not…Kate is…she’s human and I’m a vampire, I know it’s a long shot but…I just want to spend time with her and I don’t want to waste it.”

 

***

 

Kate was already walking out of her apartment complex when Kris opened the door to the limo and stepped outside, smiling at her. Her long hair was down and she wore a simple yellow dress and sandal shoes. She pulled her wrap over her shoulders and Kris couldn’t stop looking at her.

 

“You look beautiful.”

 

“Thank you,” she said, playfully. She eyed the limo and looked back at Kris. “A limo, huh?” She said, her lips pursed in amusement. “And I suppose you had something very classy and sophisticated planned for us?”

 

“Misha and Ben helped,” he admitted, sheepishly.

 

She grabbed his hand and laughed. “Kris, you don’t have to try and impress me. I appreciate all this and I’m sure you had wonderful plans, but let’s send the car away and I’ll show you all the best places in Prague.”

 

Kris looked at her and nodded, feeling his nervousness dissipate. He let out a relieved sigh and looked at the driver, Mikhail, and nodded to him. Mikhail grinned, tapped his forehead with his fingers, and wished them a good night.

 

“Well, I put myself in your capable hands then,” he murmured, holding out his arm for her.

 

Kate tucked her hand into his elbow, snuggling in close to his side, and they started walking down the stone sidewalk. She was warmth pressed against him and Kris wondered if he felt cold to her. He had taken enough blood before leaving the castle, hoping that it would make him warm enough, but her body heat seared him and his senses. “I know a darling little Moroccan restaurant a couple of blocks away. They’re a vampire friendly establishment so you can sip on some spiced blood if you don’t want to eat regular food.”

 

“That sounds great,” he said, tucking his other hand into his pocket, happy to let her take the lead for their date. “I’ve lived in the city for about three months now, but I haven’t really gotten a chance to get out much.”

 

“I take it you’re helping Misha and Benny on vampire things?”

 

“Yeah, I’m working as Ben’s assistant, doing research for him.”

 

“It must be terribly exciting to be immortal,” she said, looking warmly at him. “Though I can’t imagine what it must be like to know that you’ll never die. I wouldn’t mind staying young forever but I think, for me, life should have an end. Otherwise, what do we live for?” She gasped and made a face. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.”

 

Kris chuckled. “Actually, I feel the same way.” He took a deep breath. “My Turning wasn’t voluntary.”

 

“Ohmygod, I’m so sorry, Kris, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

 

“I’m getting used to it and talking about it helps me remember my humanity,” he said, softly. “I guess I don’t have a choice but to learn to exist.”

 

She squeezed his arm with her hand and they walked in companionable silence for a little while. “You know, I haven’t been on a date in a long time.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Most of the men that I meet, they only see the ballerina and they want to ‘show me the world’ and try to impress me with their wealth or influence,” she said, grinning at Kris. “But I believe I can see it on my own, thank you very much, and I can tell that you’re not like them and it’s refreshing. That’s why I accepted this date.”

 

“Well, I am a regular kind of guy.”

 

Kate snorted. “I doubt that very much.”

 

“No, seriously—“

 

She laughed, shaking his arm. “Stop it, I don’t believe it, and it’s a moot point anyway. Let’s have a nice dinner and then I’ll take you to my favorite places and you can tell me all about yourself.”

 

Kris laughed with her, shaking his head. “All right, you got yourself a deal.”

 

***

 

Kate was full of surprises, taking Kris across the city of Prague, introducing him to new foods and wonderful wines and different blends of blood. She held his hand and they headed towards Old Town Square between Wensceslas Square and Charles Bridge where they watched a number of lively street performances – musicians and jugglers and acrobatic acts.

 

“This area was off limits a few years ago, especially at night,” she said, as they strolled across the large stone walk. “There used to be drug dealers and prostitutes everywhere, but the city was afraid of losing its tourism money so the Czech police started cleaning out the drug users, pushing them out of the public view. All the performers out here have a permit now or the police will arrest them.”

 

Kris grinned, sheepishly. “I, yeah, that happened to me. I was at the Lennon Wall, playing my guitar, when the police took me in. I didn’t get arrested because I’m an American, but Misha and Ben paid my fine and bailed me out. Ben helped me apply for my public performance permit, but I play a couple of nights at Café Noel now.”

 

“Really? You’ll have to let me come see one of your shows. It’s only fair,” she said, chuckling.

 

“I’d like that,” he said, smiling. They watched the different performers, people applauding and cheering their approval at their antics. “This kind of reminds me of when I used to busk in LA. One of my favorite places was the Santa Monica Pier – I almost got arrested for performing without a busking permit.”

 

“You’re such a bad boy.”

 

Kris laughed. “Not even close. So tell me more about these performers.”

 

“Every night, they come out to perform for the public,” Kate said, sitting beside Kris on the steps of Jan Hus Memorial. “During the day, everyone works; but at night, they can shed their boring day time lives and come out here and become someone else, just for a few hours, show their talents and skills to an appreciate audience. When I used to have free time, I’d come out here to dance, do small performances from some of my favorite ballets.”

 

“That’s awesome.”

 

“And then Josef found out and told me to stop doing that,” she said, laughing. “Because I’m the prima ballerina for the theater company, he was afraid that I’d get hurt or something.”

 

“I’m sure these people come to the theater to see you perform.”

 

“I was quite notorious for awhile,” she said, taking a deep breath. “They used to call me the Ballerina of Old Town. Some days, I just want to dance without being constrained by my contract.”

 

Kris pointed to the large clock, lit brightly by the lights on the tower. “Can we go look at that?”

 

“That’s the Astronomical Clock. It’s one of the oldest clocks in the world, installed in 1410. We’ll have to come back during the day time because there’s a clock ceremony every hour on the hour. It broke during the Second World War, when the Germans attacked the city, and took three years to fix it. The locals believe that the city will suffer if the clock isn’t in good working order. Misha donates his own money to make sure that the clock is always maintained. It’s one of the reasons why the people of Prague love him as a city Elder.”

 

Kris marveled at the clock and tried to take photos of it with his iPhone. “It’s amazing.”

 

There were four rings on the face of the clock, but Kris wasn’t sure what the symbols meant. It looked like a huge astrolabe and he wondered how accurate the clock was. The background was dark blue or black, signifying that it was night. There was a ring with a sun symbol on it, a dark sphere that may have been the moon, and another ring that looked like astrological symbols – he only recognized the double lines of Gemini, his own sign – and he couldn’t stop staring at it.

 

“You can download the app.”  

 

“Really?” Kris said, excitedly.

 

“Come on, let’s go sit in that café so you can download it to your phone.”

 

“No, well, I can do it later—“

 

Kate laughed and took his hand. “Come on, Kristopher, I can tell that you’re fascinated by the clock. You can buy me a slice of cake and we can Google the history of the clock.”

 

“Thanks,” he murmured, crossing the square with her and putting his phone in his pocket. “But I swear I won’t spend all of our time on my phone.”

 

“It’s okay,” she said, looking at him. “You can always ask me out on a second date.”

 

***

 

It was nearly three in the morning when Kris walked Kate back to her apartment.

 

“I share it with two other dancers and they’re probably wondering where I am,” she said, standing outside the front doors. “I had a lovely time, Kris.”

 

“Me, too.”

 

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, warm lips pressing against his cheek and corner of his mouth.

 

“I’ll call you,” he said, smiling at her.

 

“You better,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

 

He waited for her to unlock the front doors, going inside. Kate waved to him and he grinned, waving back. He tucked his hands into his pockets and turned, walking back towards the main streets to catch a taxi. His head was still buzzing with the scent of her blood, the way that she smelled like fresh flowers, the feel of her warm hand on him. He was a bit dazed, but felt happier in that moment than he had in a long time. She treated him like anyone else, his vampirism was there but she didn’t make it into an issue, and he was utterly grateful for her easy acceptance.

 

The date was the first time that Kris felt comfortable with who and what he was; that she allowed him to just be Kris Allen, no expectations other than to just have a good time together. It made him feel almost human again.

 

***

 

Kris stared at the papers on the coffee table, rubbing his hands over his face. He was horrified, the anger he felt three hours ago having burned out through his tears, leaving him feeling hopeless and confused. In the nine months that he lived in Prague, he learned something new every day about being a vampire and being part of the vampire society. Most of it was positive and Kris was enjoying being part of a community again. He was working, he played music again, and being with Kate made him feel alive. And then, there were the other times, like now, he couldn’t understand how vampires saw humans as nothing more than walking blood donors.

 

“When we were talking to the children, we discovered that they were held in a group with other kids,” Benedict said, looking at the file folder in his hands. “We at first made the mistake to assume that the boys meant that they were held with other children _with Maria_ , but on further questioning with the oldest of the boys we rescued from her, we learned that they were held with several _dozen_ other children and moved from place to place.” He made a disgusted face. “Like chattel.”  

 

Jensen sighed. “Farming children for their blood?”

 

“Some of them,” Jared added, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’ve heard back from other city Elders that they found several dead children, drained of blood.”

 

“God,” Kris whispered, wiping his eyes.

 

“The rest were sold in a live auction,” Benedict said, throwing the folder on the table.

 

“Did the boys know if the people who ran this operation were human or vampire?” Misha said, frowning deeply.

 

“They said both, but the buyers were all vampires.”

 

“I can’t wrap my head around this,” Kris said, rubbing his head with his hands.

 

Benedict sighed, looking at Kris’s drawn face. “I don’t want to be condescending here but…my dear Kristopher, you’ve only been a vampire for about a year.”

 

“I know,” he said, a little annoyed. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to forget what it’s like to be human. I still live in a human world.”

 

“Tell us in a few hundred years if you remember what it’s like to be human,” Jared said, kindly. He shrugged when Kris glared at him. “Don’t give me that look, kiddo, your perspective is different when you have fifty years under your belt. I’m about 75-years old and even I have a hard time remembering what my human life was like.”

 

“But you guys don’t treat humans as cattle.”

 

They all chuckled and Kris blushed, ducking his head and feeling very young.

 

“Well, we don’t treat humans like cattle _now_ ,” Benedict said, shrugging. “We can’t rewrite our bloody histories and clean up our pasts to suit how we live today.”

 

“You know, Jensen was my Primogenitor’s creator,” Misha said, leaning on his armrest and grinning at Kris.

 

“He’s, what, your grand-sire?” Kris said, smirking. “Hey, gramps.”

 

“Bite your tongue, Childe,” Jensen hissed at him, making everyone laugh at Jensen’s expression. “I’m fairly certain that if we traced your bloodline back a few centuries, we’ll find that you belong in mine and I’m within my rights to discipline you for mouthing off to me.”

 

“Really?” Kris bit his lip but he couldn’t hide his smile. A part of him kind of liked the attention from the mysterious Jensen. He stopped staring when Jared growled at him and kicked his shin.

 

“Ow! What was that for?”

 

“For making moony eyes at my husband,” Jared said, narrowing his eyes at Kris.

 

Jensen laughed, leaning towards Jared and pressing a kiss on his jaw. “Awww, baby, so the honeymoon isn’t over yet, huh?”

 

“The honeymoon will _never_ be over. You Turned me when my libido was at its peak,” Jared growled at him, taking advantage of Jensen’s closeness and kissing him deeply.

 

“Gross,” Kris drawled, deadpan.

 

“Oh for God’s sake, don’t make me throw water on the two of you,” Benedict said, rolling his eyes. “Can we please get back to business now? Please?”

 

Jared stuck his tongue out at Benedict. “Don’t be so jealous.”

 

Kris pressed his hand over his mouth, laughing breathlessly. He turned to Misha, “anyway, you were saying…”

 

“When I was _Consigliere Personale_ to Brittany, I admired Jensen from afar. I saw the way that he ruled his city compared to how Brittany ruled Prague. It was completely different. I was the only one who could advise her, but that didn’t mean she listened to me. Just because she was one of his children doesn’t mean that they all believed in the way he ruled.”

 

Jensen sighed. “I may have been too strict with them when I was a younger Primogenitor; not knowing how to rule them because I didn’t know of my own Primogenitor Sire until a couple of decades ago. So the oldest of my children have always hated my hold over them. Many of them are city Elders and master vampires of their own right; but I haven’t been involved in their lives in a long time.”  

 

“Most of them rule their cities like Jensen ruled San Francisco,” Jared said, smiling at his husband. “Not all of your children have abandoned you.”

 

Kris watched as the two vampires exchanged a look, Jensen’s face breaking out into a goofy smile. It still amazed him that Jensen didn’t look a day over 30-years old, but when he looked into Jensen’s eyes, he could see the centuries of existence in them. Kris wondered if people would see the same in him. Even now, a little over a year since his Turning, when he looked at his reflection, Kris thought he saw a difference in the set of his eyes, the cynical purse of his lips. Maybe they were right; after a few decades, he would forget his human life.  

 

“But when I met Jensen, I realized that I preferred to be like him: fair, just, and devoted to protecting vampires and humans. I modeled the way I rule my city from Jensen.”

 

“And when I was city Elder, I did the same,” Jared added, puckering his lips to blow a kiss at Jensen.

 

“But I wasn’t _always_ such a model vampire,” Jensen said, shrugging sheepishly. “All I can say is that I was young and no one had taught me any better – not that I was in any kind of mind set to listen if they had.”

 

“Control freak,” Jared intoned, nodding solemnly.

 

Jensen growled at him. “Just wait until we’re alone.”

 

“Ohhh, I’m going to be disciplined.”

 

“Oh God,” Jensen said, burying his face in his hands.

 

Jared and Benedict had told Kris snippets of Jensen’s past, the struggle with his Primogenitor, Karl Urban, and the betrayal from Jensen’s own children. No one was certain, but Jensen was one of – if not – the oldest, of their kind. Kris was fascinated with Jensen; Turned in his prime, forever handsome and strong, but left to survive on his own without a Primogenitor to love and guide him. Looking at Jensen, Kris could understand why Jensen was Turned but not why he was abandoned. He was feared for the strength of his bloodline, and then respected for putting order into the vampire world. He had gathered an unknown number of vampire and human allies, even though he was no longer a city Elder.  

 

“Jared is correct, though. There was a period when Jensen was quite ruthless,” Benedict added, chuckling deeply. “Feared for his temper and his ruthless ability to kill his own Childer.”

 

Kris watched the sadness flutter across Jensen’s handsome face, disappearing when Jared reached out to touch his hand, sharing a smile; and Kris understood, after dealing with vampire leaders from other cities, that Misha was a one of the gentlest vampire rulers. He worked closely with the city’s human leaders, balancing vampire law with human law, and quietly punishing those vampires who broke his laws. He led a modest life, without a lot of fanfare, and Kris wondered if others saw Misha as weak because of it. _If that was the reason why Prague was the center point of this horror._ He couldn’t bring himself to ask, to criticize, even though he knew they would answer Kris truthfully.

 

“But that doesn’t explain why human children are kidnapped and trafficked into Prague and sold to vampires as…as slaves,” Kris said, morosely.

 

“Because there is no logical explanation,” Benedict said, raising his eyebrows. “You’ll only wear yourself down trying to think of the _whys_ vampires would do such a thing; you have better ways to channel your feelings.”

 

He nodded, knowing that Benedict was right. “Okay, then, how?”

 

“Help us close it down. The network goes straight through Prague, like a spoke in a wheel, and from here, it’s like a clearinghouse that goes through to Europe, Asia, the US, South America,” Jared said, putting the sheaf of papers on the table.

 

“Maria Fallon wasn’t the only one to have stolen those human children,” Kris said, pressing his hand against his face. “She was just caught red handed.”

 

“And since the Council elected to strip her of her assets and exile her, she’s disappeared off the grid.”

 

“All that did was get her out of Prague,” Kris said, shaking his head. “That’s not going to stop her from doing it again somewhere else.”

 

Jensen smiled at him, it was all teeth, but he wasn’t amused. “And what would you have the Council do instead? Take her fangs, drain her, and then let her starve and die? Cut off her head? Would you make that judgment call against your own kind, Kristopher?”

 

He stared at his hands. “If it was justice, then yes.”

 

They started to grumble but Kris tuned them out, his ears buzzing.

 

“Kris, the Council exists so that one individual cannot move unilaterally against another. It’s our checks and balances,” Misha said, simply. “My personal feeling is that yes, we should’ve taken her head and set her punishment as an example for others, but the Council believed differently. I could have easily overruled their decision; as city Elder, I’m not obliged to follow my own laws. But then the vampire community and human community would never trust me again.”

 

“I get it, I do.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “Look, I can do some research to review her assets. I’m sure something will lead us to the network.” He made a disgusted face and shook his head. “I swear, the more I learn about vampire society—“

 

“Kristopher, don’t paint all of us – don’t paint _yourself_ with that same brush,” Jensen said, carefully.

 

“I know, Jen,” he said, shaking his head. “I know not all vampires are like Maria, but…vampires live for so long, they’ve seen so much suffering of the world, how can they do these kinds of things?”

 

“They? You mean _us_ , don’t you? Because we’re immortal and life after a few decades can get boring and repetitive,” Jensen said, raising his eyebrow. “We’re not perfect; and you can’t uphold us to view life morally better than humans. We are predators, we need blood to survive, and we kill humans for it. That is what we are – but that is not the _only_ way we exist. Not all of us.  

 

“In the five hundred years of my existence, I’ve taken human blood and life when I wanted; I’ve Turned children that I desired, many of them against their will, and I’ve also taken their lives when they became too dangerous to control. We live in an enforced peace; we co-exist because we want to be out in the open and not hide in the night – but that is _only_ a tradeoff that we’ve voluntarily made. As a vampire in our society, Kristopher, you can’t view us as anything more than what we are.”

 

“Monsters?”

 

Jensen gave him a sharp look. “Is that how you see yourself?”

 

Kris frowned, shaking his head. “No. I’m not a monster, just a vampire.”

 

“We are vampires, no better or worse than anything else that exists on this planet,” he said, kindly. “Don’t put us on a pedestal, that’s a dangerous position for a vampire to be in.”

 

He sighed and tapped his fingers on the armrest. “Okay. Okay, I get it now.” He looked up at them. “But we have to do something— _I_ have to do something. We can’t let something like this exist. It’s an abomination.”

 

“Yes. And a threat to our existence,” Benedict said, looking at the others. “Kris, you can work on tracking down this network through Prague. Look through Maria’s papers; there’s got to be something there. Misha and I want you to work on this.”  

 

Misha nodded. “Take this network down with _extreme_ prejudice, Kris.”

 

Kris looked at Benedict. “Do you think I’m ready?”

 

“The question is not do I think, but do _you_ think you’re ready?”

 

“Yes,” he said, looking at him. “I want to take this network down; I’ll do _anything_ to make sure of it.”

 

Misha’s bright blue eyes slid to Kris. “Then act in my name and my authority; the city will be open to anything you require. Humans and vampires will honor your status.” He chuckled, sitting back in his chair. “Use it wisely, grasshopper.”  

 

“Wow,” he said, taking a deep breath, shaking slightly. “That’s…a lot of power.”

 

Benedict snickered, giving Kris a very amused look. “You’ll have all the power without the politics. Leave that to us. Not even I have that kind of authority in the city.”

 

“Thank you, Misha, I promise I won’t abuse it,” Kris said, rubbing his hands on his legs. He understood what it meant, that he would act in Misha’s name as city Elder, and that he would be afforded all the powers of a city Elder during his investigation. He got that it was serious; but Kris didn’t know where to start. “I’m going to need help, guys.”

 

Jared sipped his spiced blood coffee. “I’ll be your point man and I’ll watch your back. I know the city and I know about the network as much as anyone. I can help you in your investigation.”

 

“Thank you, Jay,” he said, letting out another shuddering breath. “This is going to be…it’s not going to be easy, is it?”

 

He wasn’t sure if he was going to be ready to see the horror of it head on, but he couldn’t let something like this exist, not if he could do something about it.  

 

“Benny and I will take care of the politics; and Jensen will use his international contacts to talk to the other city Elders.” Misha leaned over and placed his hand on Kris’s shoulder. “You can only do what you can, Kris. Remember that.”

 

***

 

It took three weeks for Kris to find a link to the network. It was tenuous and weak at best, a total waste of time at worst, but it was enough that Kris sent Jared out to do the ground work. He had spent days shifting through Maria Fallon’s assets, deciphering contracts in numerous languages and running down her worldwide real estate holdings.  Kris was about to give up when he came across a non-descript piece of paper stuck in the bottom of an accordion file folder. At first glance, it meant nothing to him and he crumpled it up, tossing it into the trash. But, something made him go back for it. It turned out to be a partial receipt for fresh blood that led to a black market blood trader named Klaus Holcek. It wasn’t a good lead and it probably wouldn’t get them any closer to finding the network, but it was the only one that Kris had.  

 

“It doesn’t make sense. He’s small time. Why would Maria buy blood from him? And why on the black market? She had access to all the legal blood centers in the city.”

 

“Could be just his cover,” Kris said, rubbing his eyes. “Maybe he’s fronting for someone else, someone higher up the food chain.”

 

“Hmmm…Benny and I checked him out. Holcek owns a strip club and he thinks he’s a mac daddy pimp,” Jared said, leaning against the wall. “He spends his Monday nights at Club Fevra off of Dlouha Street. Let’s go talk to him and find out.”

 

Kris grimaced and let out a grunt in disgust. In the past few weeks, he had seen the uglier side to Prague for both vampires and humans. “Great, another seedy club.”  

 

“Some of the best deals are made on the street,” he said, pushing off the wall. “We’ll go out tonight at sundown. Drink lots of blood, it might be another long night.”

 

“Crap, okay, let me just call Kate to cancel our plans. Again. She’s going to end up dumping me for all the times I cancel on her,” he said, looking up at Jared. “Are we going to need to bring security?”

 

Jared smirked and showed his fangs.   

 

***

 

“I want to see Klaus Holcek,” Kris said, looking up at the two burly guards at the back door to the club. The alley stank of human waste and alcohol, the brick walls a canvas of graffiti. It was the lowliest of places in Prague and Kris had seen more than his share of the infamous Dlouha Street district – a haven for drug dealers, prostitutes, addicts, thieves and drunken revelers too stupid to know they shouldn’t be there.

 

They stared at him and then looked at Jared, who gave a wide grin, showing off his long fangs. Kris thought that Jared really relished his role as the “muscle,” that he enjoyed being Kris’s vampire guard. It wasn’t like Kris could be the heavy; he was of average height and slender, and he didn’t seem threatening to anyone even on his worst day. But he had learned that he didn’t need to yell or talk big; that everyone in the city knew he worked in Misha’s name and he was granted access to pretty much anywhere he needed to go.  

 

One of them opened the door for them, nodding at Kris. “Welcome to Club Fevra, Mr. Allen.”

 

“Thanks,” he said, giving them a curt smile.  

 

They cut through the small kitchen area to the main floor of the club, loud European techno music pulsing out of the speakers as nearly naked women danced on every available surface. Kris looked around the room and saw Klaus holding court at a private booth, surrounded by scantily clad young girls. He patted Jared on the arm and they walked through the crowded club towards Klaus.

 

“Klaus Holcek?”

 

Klaus was a burly man with dark hair and dark eyes. He wore a tight gray suit and a red shirt unbuttoned to show his dark chest hair. He grinned at Kris, narrowing his eyes at him.

 

“Vampire! You are welcome at my club! Here, I have wonderful fresh girls for you. Never bitten,” Klaus said, chortling. “Virgin blood, yeah.”

 

Kris frowned. “No, thanks, I already ate. In fact, why don’t you tell the ladies to leave the three of us alone so we can talk to you.”

 

The human spoke to the girls and Kris watched as they sidled out of the booth, their bared skin unmarked – well, thank goodness for small favors, but Kris didn’t think they looked old enough to even be in the club, let alone work in this kind of business. That was going to be for later.

 

Kris and Jared slid into the booth, putting Klaus between them. Jared sat with his hands on the table, eyes scanning the room, the tips of his fangs peeking out from between his lips.  

 

“Can I offer you something to drink? Some blood, perhaps?”

 

“Mr. Allen said that we already ate,” Jared said, narrowing his eyes but not looking at Klaus. “And we certainly wouldn’t taint our palate with anything you have to offer here.”

 

“We want information about trafficking in human children.” Kris said, staring at the human. “And give us specifics, Klaus – who, what, where, when, how. Tell me everything you know about how this network runs.”

 

Klaus laughed, boisterously. “I do not trade in children’s flesh, gentlemen. Look around you! I have plenty of young and pretty girls. I don’t need children!”

 

“So if I called in the city Elder’s security teams and checked out your club, I won’t find any trace of illegal activities here?” Kris said, pulling out his iPhone and setting it on the table.

 

“You play rough, Mr. Allen,” he said, smirking. “And to tell the truth, what I know amounts to nothing significant. Oh yes, we have heard of your…investigation into this horrible trade network. You believe that the humans run the trade, but it is your kind who buy these children. I’m a businessman; all I know is supply and demand.”

 

“Supply and demand?” Kris growled, leaning closer towards Klaus. “Listen to me, you asshole, tell me who is your contact.”

 

“Why should I tell you? What is in it for me, hmm?”

 

Kris glared at him and let his lips form into a derisive smile. He sniffed Klaus noisily, opening his mouth and letting the human watch his fangs descend. Klaus smelled like dark chocolate and fear and it made Kris’s mouth water and his fangs itch for flesh. The human stared at Kris, his eyes widening as he tried to lean away from Kris.

 

“Do you think anyone would stop me if I tore your throat open, right here at your table, in your own club?” Kris said, softly.

 

Klaus gave a nervous laugh. “You would destroy the long friendship between the city and the vampires for what, for killing me? I’m nobody here, but I’m human, and you would be punished.”

 

“Mr. Allen has the city Elder’s full authority to act in his name,” Jared said, the corner of his lip rising in derision. “So he might get into a _little_ trouble for making a mess, you know, pull your guts out while you’re still alive, scare the girls a little, but no one is going to punish him for killing scum like you.”

 

Kris could feel the booth shaking as Klaus wiped his forehead with his hand. “Tell me what we want to know and we’ll leave you alone. If you lie to me, then I’ll come back and find you.” He sniffed again and licked his fangs. “I know what your blood smells like now; you won’t be able to hide from me.”

 

“I—I don’t know anything,” he said, voice trembling now. 

 

“Your name came up in Maria Fallon’s records. You supplied her with black market blood.”

 

“Yes! And that’s all. They were just blood bags, stolen from the hospitals, nothing more than that.”

 

Kris frowned, pursing his lips. He felt the blood boil inside of him, the fear coming off the human teasing him…angering him. Kris reached out and grabbed the collar of Klaus’s shirt. “See, I know you’re lying to me. Why would any vampire need stolen blood? We all have free access to blood centers in any city in the world. So you see, Klaus, there’s more to your measly story than stolen blood bags.” He narrowed his eyes, just a few centimeters from Klaus’s face. “So what are you hiding from me?”

 

“That is all, I swear it on my mother!” Klaus licked his lips nervously. “I am just a humble servant of the vampires!”

 

Kris gave an exaggerated disappointed sigh and looked over at Jared. “You know what I hate most in the world?”

 

“People who litter?” Jared said, grinning at him.

 

“Yeah, them, too, but what I hate more are liars,” he said, letting out a soft growl right into Klaus’s ear. “But Klaus isn’t a liar, are you, buddy? He’s going to tell us what we want to know because he knows how much I hate liars.”

 

“And humans who kidnap and sell kids,” Jared added, glaring at Klaus.

 

“Exactly,” Kris said, getting to his feet. He reached down and grabbed the collar of Klaus’s jacket and dragged him out of the booth, tossing him on the floor. Everything stopped in the club, all movement, just the thumpa-thumpa of the techno music a strange accompaniment to what Kris was doing. “I’m through playing around, Klaus. Now tell me where the children are kept before they’re sold!”

 

“I don’t—“

 

Kris stepped on Klaus’s hand with just enough pressure to keep him pinned. Kris had a lot of practice knowing just how much of his vampire strength to use on humans. He bent down to glare at him. “Don’t make me angry.” 

 

“I don’t know! I swear!”

 

He stomped down hard, putting all of his strength into it, hearing the bones snap and break under his shoe as Klaus screamed, his blood dripping on the floor.

 

“Processing—they go to a processing center!”

 

“Where is it located?” He stomped mercilessly on the broken hand again, tearing another series of screams from Klaus. “It’s somewhere in this city! Where is it?”

 

Klaus stared at him, tears and snot on his face, lips trembling.

 

“I’ll break your bones, one by one if I have to,” Kris seethed, baring his fangs. “Then I’ll drink your blood, but not enough to kill you. You’ll suffer for hours before you finally die.” Kris grinned down at him. “Or maybe I’ll Turn you into one of us and I’ll keep you chained and starved in the dungeons of the castle, a pathetic thing I can torture for decades. You’d go insane and beg me to cut off your head. Is that what you want instead!”

 

“No, please don’t! Don’t!”

 

Kris dropped down and dug his knee into the man’s stomach. He dipped his finger into the pool of Klaus’s blood, licking it off his finger slowly, savoring the taste. He felt Klaus shudder under his leg and Kris grinned, smacking his lips.

 

“They—they’ll kill me!”

 

Jared snorted, nodding towards Kris. “And you don’t think he will?”

 

Kris eased off of Klaus and stood, looking down at him. “Where is the processing center?”

 

He watched as Klaus rolled to his side, getting up to lean against the side of the booth. “The location always changes; the delivery is made on the second Sunday of each month. We are told where to meet 24-hours before delivery. I—I don’t know anything more, I swear.”

 

“There’s a delivery in four days,” Jared said, pulling out his iPhone and turning away to make a call to Misha.

 

“Who is your contact?”

 

Klaus shook his head, his fear deepening. “No, I can’t—“

 

“Tell me the name.”

 

“His name is Swann.”

 

“Swann?”

 

Klaus nodded, holding his damaged hand against his chest. “Yes. I do not know if it’s a real name, but it is the name I know him by.”

 

Kris wasn’t sure if Klaus was telling the truth, but the defeated lines of his face and body assured him that he had gotten a real lead. He leaned closer to Klaus, watching as the human flinched away. “Where was the location last month?”

 

“A house, on the Vltava River,” he said, looking at Kris. “But the location will be moved.”

 

“What’s the address?”

 

***

 

Kris clenched and unclenched his fists as Jared drove them towards the location Klaus gave up to them. He didn’t know what to expect, trying to steel himself for what they would find. Jared had alerted Misha’s security to meet them there and to gather whatever evidence they could. A search of the real estate records went to a dead end international real estate company in Berlin and Jensen was on his way to the airport to take his private plane to Germany.

 

“Would you have done all those things to Klaus? Turning him and keeping him chained up in the castle dungeon?”  

 

“Yes.”

 

A month ago, Kris wouldn’t even have the _imagination_ to even say something like that to anyone, let alone act on it. But the frustration of not being able to get the answers he needed, the anger at the senselessness of the things he saw, and witnessing firsthand the horrors that people were capable of committing – it was getting to him now. He learned that using a threat and a show of force made it easier for Kris to get right to the point. No more wasted words trying to be polite; no more Mr. Nice Guy.

 

“You’re turning into one scary motherfucker, kiddo.”

 

Kris stared out the window. “I know.”

 

***   

 

Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t anything like this.

 

The house was situated in a lovely estate, a tidy back lawn that went to the river’s edge. From the outside, it bore an elegant gothic architecture, but on the inside…the stench of death made it nearly impossible to breathe and Kris was never more grateful to not need air in his lungs. The security teams swept the entire house, the lead agent motioning for them to the basement.

 

The naked bodies of a dozen small children were neatly piled in the corner, their lifeless milky eyes staring out at nothing. Kris couldn’t imagine what was the last thing they saw before they succumbed to death; couldn’t imagine the terror that filled them; couldn’t imagine the pain they felt.

 

Kris pressed his hands over his eyes, leaning against the wall, unable to move any closer. He heard the security teams and Jared speaking quietly about notifying the Czech police and to update Misha and Benedict on what they found.

 

 _“—drained of blood, possibly farmed,”_ Jared said into his cell phone.

 

_“—about five to ten years old.”_

 

_“—will need to identify each child.”_

_“—been dead for about a week, from the state of their bodies.”_

 

_“We’re coming back to the castle now.”_

 

Jared’s large hand curled over Kris’s shoulder, gently urging him away from the wall and out of the house.

 

Kris gasped and pressed his face against the cool metal. “Ohmygod… _ohmygod_ …”

 

“Come on, Kris, let’s—“

 

“No,” he said, jerking away from Jared and taking a few steps backwards, shaking his head. “I—I need to go for a walk, clear my—“ He winced, pressing his hand against his forehead. “Just—I need to get away from here.”

 

Jared watched him, nodding slowly. “We’ll be at the castle. When you’re ready.”

 

***

 

He walked for about an hour, listless, without direction. All he could smell was the scent of death; his mind filled with images he couldn’t erase. He didn’t even know where he was going and was surprised when he ended up in front of Kate’s apartment building. Over the months, he’d gotten to know the apartment lobby staff and they greeted him warmly, buzzing him into the main lobby.

 

Kate’s familiar scent warmed him as he stood outside her apartment door, breathing her in to replace the death that lingered. He knocked softly and heard Kate’s footsteps, her gasp of pleasure when she saw him, hugging him and drawing him inside.

 

“Kris! I’m a total mess, I wasn’t expecting you, but I’m glad you’re here!” She said, patting her braided hair and letting out a shy laugh.

 

“Kate—“

 

“Ohmygod, what’s wrong? What happened?” She said, pulling him towards the living room and sitting him down on the couch.

 

Kris pulled her against him, melting into her body heat, tucking his face against her neck. He sniffed at her, rubbing his cheek against her neck, feeling his fangs ache in his mouth. He wanted her _so_ much, needed the warmth of her blood to take comfort in her life.

 

She stroked his hair, wrapping her long arms around his back, squeezing him as tight as she could, but it wasn’t enough. Kris let out a muffled moan and closed his eyes, feeling the blood tears seeping out and falling on his cheeks.

 

“Kris, what is it?” She said, softly, pulling back to look at his face. “My God, your eyes.”

 

“Just tears. Vampire tears.” He tried to duck his face, not wanting to get his blood tears on her, but she reached out and cupped his cheeks with her warm palms, lifting his face to look at him. “Sorry, sorry about—“

 

“Come on,” she said, standing up and taking his hands. “Let me clean you up and we can go to bed.”

 

“I don’t think—“

 

“Shhh, I _know_ what you need, Kris,” she whispered, smiling gently at him as she led him down the hallway.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Language, off page torture, off page children deaths, violence, sex, biting, blood.

**Prague National Hospital**

 

 

 _Today._ Time was running out; they had to figure out how the children were transported into the city and then sold to vampire buyers. Kris had questioned Klaus two more times before the Sunday deadline and sent two security agents to watch the club owner when he would be notified of the location. Kris and Jared worked around the clock, talking to _anyone_ in the city who would have any kind of information about the children. They had eyes on the airports, roads, water ways, trains – anything that could set up a red flag. No one would be able to come into the city without alerting the authorities. But they still didn’t know who Swann was and where the vampire had holed up.

 

_“We’re running out of time. I’m going to draw them out,” Kris said, drinking warmed blood from his black coffee mug._

_“Use Holcek as bait? It could work,” Jared told him, nodding. “The people who run this network will know that we’ve talked to Klaus, they’ll either cut him off or…”_

_“Kill him. Yeah. But we can get to them before they get Klaus,” he said, looking at Jared. “I can protect him while using him to lure them out.”_

_“You stay close to the agents. The last thing we need is for you to get taken.”_

 

_Kris went back to the club to stay glued to Klaus’s side, but he gave Kris and the agents the slip, using the chaos of his crowded club to escape them._

_“I can’t believe I was so stupid,” Kris said, harshly._

_“We have enough people on the ground to tell us when anything happens,” Jared reassured him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, kiddo.”_

_“I swear, the next time I see Klaus, I’m going to beat the ever living crap out of him,” Kris snickered, rolling his eyes._

 

The _Městská policie_ found the body in the alleyway behind Club Fevra on Sunday morning. They hadn’t finished processing the identification because the body was horribly mutilated and drained of blood; they finger printed the one remaining finger left on his left hand, the ring finger, and the Interpol database confirmed it was Klaus Holcek.

 

“He is in here.”

 

The medical technician pulled open the door to the cold storage room and Kris followed him inside the dull, gray room. The light was dim and Kris could see the breath puff from the technician’s mouth. They passed by a number of gurneys, bodies inside the black body bags, to the one at the far end of the wide, refrigerated room.

 

“He is not in good shape, Mr. Allen.”

 

“Open it,” Kris ordered, calmly.

 

Kris forced himself to look and kept his emotions in check as the body bag was unzipped and pulled back. He saw the pale, bluish face of Klaus Holcek – or what was recognizable as Klaus Holcek. Kris frowned, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets, pushing past his regret and fear to look at the multiple puncture wounds on his neck and face. His eyelids were cut off, the eyes wide and milky. It looked like his nose was hacked at and torn off his face. His cheeks were gouged, revealing muscle tissue and teeth. Kris took his hands out of his pockets and reached out to unzip more of the bag, but the technician stopped him and handed him a pair of latex gloves.

 

He pulled them on, clumsy as they stuck to his skin, and finally wiggled all of his fingers into the gloves. He unzipped the body bag to see the various stab wounds along Klaus’s chest and stomach, more bite marks, parts of his skin and flesh torn away revealing the frozen detritus of muscle underneath. He bit his lip when he saw Klaus’s hand, the one that he had stomped on and broke, the cast was cut off and the fingers, what was left of them, mangled. _He had done that to him_ , _what made him any better than the vampires who did this?_ The chest area was stitched closed after the autopsy exam, the Y-shape and large stitches looked like movie prosthetics. It looked even more brutal than the wounds left behind.  

 

Kris finally looked away, filling his lungs with the chilly air. He was so arrogant, thinking he could do this. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He caused this, put Klaus at risk, put him in the line of fire, to be tortured and killed. This was his fault.

 

“Was not an easy death; he lived through most of his tortures. Hands and ankles were tied.” Kris looked at the marks on Klaus’s wrists, bruised and torn skin marked red. “They saved his face for last. He was kept alive for several hours. Officially, he died of exsanguination; these are bite marks of at least three different sets of teeth and fangs.”

 

“Okay, I’m done.”

 

He nodded to the technician to zip the bag, but something caught his eye. He held the technician’s wrist and then leaned down to look at the human set of teeth marks embedded into Klaus’s beefy shoulder.

 

“I determined that these set of human teeth marks were not part of the torture but rather of an amorous evening with a lover,” the technician said, his eyebrows burrowed. “The police interviewed all of the women in the club. One of them admitted that she had spent the night with the victim the night before and that he had left her apartment to return to the club.”

 

And that was the night Kris and the agents had lost track of Klaus. If only Kris had been more observant, had seen who had taken him, he might have been able to prevent this from happening. His stomach lurched and he swallowed down the bile, his jaw clenched tight. The last thing the technician probably wanted to see was Kris throw up the blood he had drunk earlier that evening.

 

“Can you send me a copy of your report?” Kris said, looking up at the technician.

 

“Yes, Mr. Allen.”

 

“Thank you,” he said, pulling off the gloves and walking quickly out of the cold storage room. He threw the gloves into the medical waste can and walked out of the examination room and into the hallway. It wasn’t that much warmer out there, but Kris leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath to work the nausea down.

 

Of course it was Kris’s fault. He had made Klaus a target; had used him as _bait_. A part of him knew the risks to Klaus’s life and Kris had accepted that the risk had to be worth it – he had to save those kids. But now, seeing Klaus…it wasn’t worth it; no one should have to be used like that. He knew he had to push this into the back of his head; he needed to be focused. They didn’t have time for Kris to feel sorry for himself; the network was probably closing its loop on Klaus, making contingency plans to go somewhere else, and Kris had nothing to show for it except too many dead humans.

 

 _Get a fucking grip!_ He chided himself, taking a deep breath. _Don’t even think about losing it now. If anything, make Klaus’s death have some kind of meaning._

 

He would atone for his part in Klaus’s murder when this was over, when he could sit down and honestly look at what he did or didn’t do, and find ways to redeem himself.

 

Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway and Kris turned to see Jared walking hurriedly towards him. Kris wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and pushed off the wall, looking up at the other vampire.

 

“Kris! The security team reported back. They just captured three vampires from a cargo plane at Havel Commercial Airport.”  

 

“That’s great! Let’s go—“

 

Jared grabbed Kris’s arm, holding him still. “We lost all the children, Kris. They blew up the plane when we took them—“

 

“Ohmygod,” Kris whispered, shaking his head. “No—“

 

“They told us that there were twenty-seven children on board—“

 

“God, no, no!” He jerked away from Jared and walked to the wall, pressing his forehead against the cool tiles.

 

“We’ve taken the vampires to the castle. The Council gave us permission to _interrogate_ them.”

 

Kris wiped his eyes and took a sharp breath. He turned to look at Jared. “I want to be there.”

 

“I know.”

 

***

 

**The Prague Castle**

 

 

“I’m going in that room, Jensen! Don’t try to stop me.”

 

“No.”

 

“Don’t tell me no!”

 

“ _No_ , Kristopher.” Jensen said, deliberately.

 

Kris felt his face heat up, fingers curling into tight fists at his side. “I deserve to be in there, I got us this far! Don’t treat me like I’m a damn kid. I can see this through.”

 

Jensen sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. “That’s not why.”

 

He glared at the other vampire. “Then why?”

 

“Do you think I want you to see me do this?” Jensen said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, shoulders hunched in. “How do you think you’re going to feel after watching me tear them apart?”  
 

“It’s not—“

 

“No,” Jensen snarled at him. He flicked his eyes at Jared. “You’re not sitting in on this one either.”

 

Jared merely nodded his head. “We’ll wait for you outside.”

 

Kris had heard stories of when Jensen was a younger vampire he had served the court of Emperor Ferdinand V and earned the gentle Emperor’s warm regard. The Emperor lavished lands and wealth on Jensen and gave him the foothold he needed to provide a city for his first child, Brittany. Jensen wasn’t immune to court politics and jealousies, plots to kill him or betray him to the Emperor. But none of them knew that Jensen was a vampire and didn’t know how to truly kill him. His ability to survive any attack shocked his attackers; and the Emperor’s love for Jensen proved to be very deep when he ordered Jensen’s attackers punished as traitors to the throne.

 

In those days, the castle had a secret working dungeon, where traitors to the throne, the highest crime in the land, submitted to tortures and then death. Jensen had been a soldier in his human life; had seen bodies ripped apart on battlefields, had delivered death with his own hands and fangs. He never killed for sport, but his devotion to Emperor Ferdinand and his own sense of loyalty provided Jensen with skills in the dungeons that he never believed he needed or wanted.

 

“Doesn’t this break the Geneva Convention and all the anti-torture laws?”

 

“The Council isn’t ruled by human laws,” Jared said, softly. “We’re granted the exception due to the nature of the crime and the urgency of the trail.”

 

Kris flinched at the screams. He couldn’t imagine what Jensen was doing in there; and he kept seeing in his mind the wounds left on Klaus’s face and body, the suffering he endured before he was finally allowed to die. Kris was certain that Klaus told them about him. He understood that everyone broke under torture. Klaus had when Kris was working him over. It was just a matter of _how long it took to break_.

 

Jared stood with him outside of the dungeon cell, the echoes of the vampire screams muffled by the thick stone walls. Kris wrapped his arms around himself, his nose tickling from the scent of fresh vampire blood in the air.

 

“Don’t be pissed at Jen for keeping you out.”

 

“He was right, I couldn’t watch anyway.” He was grateful that Jensen kept him out of the room. Kris wouldn’t be able to stand there and watch as another living being suffered, even for something like this.

 

“Misha knows the questions to ask,” Jared said, letting out a deep breath. He stood next to Kris and wrapped his arm around Kris’s shoulders, offering comfort and warmth. “We’ll get the answers we need.”

 

“And then what happens to the vampires?”

 

“Jensen will give them a quick death.”

 

There were more screams and more muffled shouts, most of them pleas to stop, and then a soft silence that was more disturbing than the screams. Kris wondered if they were done, if it was finally over, and jumped out of his skin when the screams started again. He started trembling and he gritted his teeth, trying to keep it together.

 

“Do you want to go back upstairs?”

 

He shook his head. “I should stay. It’s – this is where I should be.”

 

“Let’s hope it’ll be over soon,” Jared whispered, holding Kris closer.

 

“I don’t know how I can face myself knowing that I had a part in all this.”

 

Jared nodded, staring off at the far wall. “If there was any other way…”

 

“I get it.”

 

“You don’t have to like it or approve of it.”

 

“It’s not about that. I don’t blame anyone else,” Kris said, looking up at Jared to make sure that he knew Kris wasn’t going to hold this against his mate. “Not Jensen, not anyone. If it wasn’t Jensen in that room, then it would’ve been someone else. Just – just knowing that Jensen will give them a quick death after…that’s…that’s what I’ll think about.”

 

“Okay.” Jared took a deep breath.

 

“I know you’re worried for Jensen. What he has to do in there.”

 

Jared grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll be there for him.”

 

Kris leaned against Jared, glad to have him there, and suddenly felt utterly selfish. For weeks, while they were tracking down any leads to the network, Kris had sent Jared out to do the dirty work, chasing down informants, going into the seediest parts of the city’s underground, and he hadn’t considered that he put Jared into danger every time.

 

“I’m sorry, man,” he said, softly.

 

“For what?”

 

“For going through this with me.”

 

“We weren’t going to make you do it alone.” Jared cracked a wide smile, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Anyway, there’s nothing for you to be sorry about. We all knew what we would have to do when we signed up. You did good, Kris. This was the best lead we’ve gotten.”

 

“Those little kids still died.” _Because he wasn’t smart enough; because he made mistakes; because he wasn’t cut out to carry the city Elder’s name and status._

 

Jared opened his mouth to say something, but he changed his mind and just nodded instead. Kris knew what he was going to say – that the kids were already marked for death the second they were kidnapped by the vampires. Not that that made Kris feel any better about it.

 

Kris stayed close to Jared and bit his lip, closing his eyes to pray. It had been a long time since he prayed; he wasn’t even sure if he could for something like this. He prayed for a long time, asking God for forgiveness, for peace to the souls of the children who died, for strength for the families left behind, for justice and not vengeance.

 

The door opened and the scent of blood and waste and death forced Kris to open his eyes. They watched as Misha stepped out into the hallway, looking tired and drawn, his handsome face pale. He nodded to them and came closer.

 

“They said that they picked up the children in Nairobi. It’s the main hub and Swann is there. I’m going to get the security teams ready to fly out immediately before Swann gets spooked and runs.”

 

“I’d like to go with them,” Kris said, looking up at Misha.

 

“If the kid goes, I go.”

 

Misha nodded. “Of course. You’ll go in my name. Be ready in an hour.”

 

Kris watched as the city Elder hurried down the hallway. The door closed and he turned to see Jensen wiping blood off his face and hands with a handful of paper towels.

 

“Jay,” Jensen called, his voice hoarse and broken. He looked shocked and exhausted, dark circles under his blood-rimmed eyes.

 

Jared went to his mate and wrapped his arms around him, murmuring words into Jensen’s ear. Kris offered a compassionate smile and nodded his head to Jensen. He watched as Jensen nodded back, his eyes bright green, laced with blood tears as Jared held him. Kris left them and ran down the hallway, following Misha back up to the main rooms of the castle.

 

***

 

**Nairobi, Kenya**

 

 

Known as the City in the Sun, it was a sprawling urban city in the middle of an African savanna. Kris was struck by the dichotomy of wealth and poverty; the slums nestled between the steel and glass high rise buildings that circled the city. He stared out the window as the plane descended to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. They processed through customs quickly and were met by the city Elder’s _Consigliere Personale_ , Denys Muhati, a tall, elegant African with a bald head and wearing a light colored linen suit. He greeted them inconspicuously, his voice melodious and polite.  

 

“Mr. Allen, Mr. Padalecki, I wish we could’ve met under better conditions. Welcome to Kenya.”

 

“Misha has updated your city Elder?”

 

“Yes, both of us, and our Council leaders. We have identified and have been monitoring several locations in the Kibera slums,” Denys said as they walked through the airport, armed security guards following them unhindered. “We believe that this area is a plausible place to hide.”

 

“Do you know of a vampire named Swann?” Kris said, looking around the busy and noisy airport as they stepped out into the harsh sunlight.

 

“We are… _aware_ of him.”

 

 _Aware of him?_ Seriously. He dug into his bag for his sunglasses, pulling them on. Kris made a face – what the hell did that mean? _Aware of him_. Were they _aware_ of his business in their city and just turned a blind eye?

 

“Our sunlight does take some getting used to,” Denys remarked, waving his hand for the armored vehicles waiting for them at the curb. “Our city Elder requested that our security team accompany you and yours into the area.”

 

Kris looked at the leader of their Prague security, Captain Jack Reynolds, who nodded his agreement. He turned to the _Consigliere Personale_ and said, “thanks, that would be a good idea since your people know this area best.”

 

“We have wanted to shut down this operation since we first heard rumors of it two years ago, but we’ve been unable to discover the timeline of these criminals. Believe me when I say that this city’s leadership would never condone allowing such—“

 

“Two years!” Kris shouted at him. “What the hell—“

 

“ _Thank you_ , Mr. Muhati, but we’re wasting time with political niceties,” Jared cut in, sharply. He gave Kris a look. He glared at Jared but otherwise kept his mouth shut. “Your security teams are welcomed to join us, as long as they do not get in our way.”

 

“Of course, Mr. Padalecki.”

 

Kris got into the back of one of the vehicles, hanging on as they raced through the chaotic streets. It was by no means a beautiful city, but he closed his eyes and breathed in the scents, rich and robust, mixed with sand and spice; Nairobi was a curious mix of metal, sweat, and flowers. Maybe it wasn’t visually beautiful, but the city pleased Kris’s vampire senses with her earthy realness.

 

As they left the downtown section behind, Kris looked out at the long row of cheaply built ramshackle houses with red aluminum roofs that signified they were in the slums. The roads turned bumpy as the trucks jerked and jumped over the refuse-packed dirt roads. The security guards sitting with them in their truck began checking their weapons, the click of the safety removed as they stared out at the faces of the inhabitants, some curious and some frightened, as the armored vehicles moved into their neighborhoods.

 

“Kibera is divided into thirteen villages,” Denys said, turning in the passenger seat to look at him. “The city Elder is working closely with the human leaders and with NGOs and international investors to build affordable housing so that we can move these people out of the slums. We have heard rumors that Swann and his vampires have taken over the West Soweto village, but we’ve been unable to find him.”

 

“Maybe we’ll get him today,” Kris offered, softly.

 

Denys gave him a solemn nod. “We would be in your debt, Mr. Allen.”

 

Any other time, Kris would be generous and tell the _Consigliere Personale_ that there was no debt, that working together to stop Swann and the network was more than enough; but Kris wasn’t feeling particularly generous these days. Instead, he merely met the other vampire’s eyes and nodded his acceptance of the debt.

 

He gave Denys a very calculated look. “I’ll make sure to pass that along to _my_ city Elder when we return to Prague.”

 

***

 

The convoy stopped just outside of West Soweto. Kris watched as the security teams spread out into the village, women taking their children inside as soon as they saw the men with the weapons. The mud walled houses offered little protection for them, but it was better than being out in the open. Kris opened the door to the truck, but Jared grabbed his arm.

 

“Stay inside, Kris.”

 

“It’s my duty to go out there,” he said, stubbornly.

 

“Forget it. Misha and Ben – no, never mind them, fucking **Adam** will kill me if anything happened to you,” Jared hissed at him, tightening his hold on Kris’s arm.

 

He looked at the other vampire and shook him off. “I have to make sure, Jay. I can take a team with me.”

 

“Kris—“

 

“Please, Jared.”

 

Denys stared at them. “I would not recommend going out there, gentlemen. West Soweto is a very dangerous place. We cannot guarantee your safety.”

 

“I have to see for myself,” Kris said, nodding to Jared.

 

“I’m going with you. And so help me, Kris, if _anything_ happens, I’m going to kick your scrawny ass,” Jared muttered as they got out of the vehicle. “Captain Reynolds! I need a team to take us inside.”

 

“Mr. Padalecki, I don’t think you should go in there, sir,” the team captain said, sternly.

 

“It’s under Mr. Allen’s orders.”

 

Reynolds made a frustrated sound. He turned to four of his men and waved them towards them. “Get Simmons to secure this area; no one but our team gets out, hold anyone else who comes through.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“You three, with me. We’re taking the civilians in. Watch their backs!”

 

The captain stalked towards Kris, looking none too happy about it, but Kris thought he could suck it up.

 

“Mr. Allen, this is a huge risk, not just to your life but for every single member of my team. _Sir_.”

 

Kris glared at him. “I understand the risks, Captain, but I’m going in there with or without you. Got it?”

 

“Yes, sir,” the captain said, raising his eyebrow. “Stay between us – and if anything happens, if we get separated, get back out here to this location.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Have you ever fired a gun before, Mr. Allen?”

 

Kris gave him the eye. “I’m from _Arkansas_.”

 

The captain’s lips curled up for a moment; he turned to the sergeants. “I need your spare weapons.”

 

Two Glocks appeared in his hands and he handed one to Kris and the other to Jared. “Just in case.”

 

“Right,” Kris said, checking to make sure that the safety was on and depressed the hidden button to unlock the clip, pulling it out to see that it held fifteen rounds. He slapped it back into the handle of the gun, chambered a round into the pipe, and held it down by his side with his index finger carefully over the trigger guard. He didn’t bother putting it away; knew that if he needed to shoot, he wouldn’t have time to get his gun out.

 

Jared leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I think you’re turning the captain on, dude.”

 

Kris rolled his eyes and elbowed Jared sharply. “We’re ready.”

 

“Let’s move, slowly and quietly,” the captain said, looking at the team. “Mr. Allen, stay behind me.”

 

Kris followed behind the captain, Jared behind him, and the three other security agents around them in a diamond shape. Kris heard gunfire in the distance and he ducked low, Jared’s hand grabbing the back of his jacket, pulling him down.

 

“But seriously, this is fucking stupid, Kris,” Jared growled at him, low and tense.

 

They made their way down the narrow alley, the captain signaling one of his men to move ahead to be point. He could hear the radio static, teams reporting in on their status.

 

“Charlie-two. Grid 91. Contact.”

 

“This is Charlie-four. We’re at grid 78. Hostiles on the roof! Hostiles on the roof!”

 

“It’s too hot, Captain!”

 

“Alpha-one. All teams fall back,” Reynolds shouted into his headset. He turned to look at Kris. “We’re going back!”

 

For once, Kris didn’t argue. He nodded and turned to go when a line of bullets fell above him. He ran to the left of the street, hunkering down as close to the wall as possible. He looked to see that Jared had taken cover on the other side, shooting his gun through the awning above him. Two of the security agents were shot and down on the ground, the captain and the other agent trapped in front of Kris and behind him.

 

“Get down! Take cover!”

 

“They’re shooting from the roof!”

 

Bullets slammed into the mud wall above him and nicked at the ground as Kris crawled along the dirt towards a narrow alley that was covered with an aluminum roof. Not that it was going to help, but it got him out of the line of fire. He kept his head down, protecting his eyes from the flying dirt and chipped wood. His heartbeat ratcheted up by a thousand beats a second, fear circling his lower belly. Kris gripped the gun in his hand and got up on his knees, refusing to just lay there and be shot to death.

 

“Kris!” Jared shouted, trapped on the other side. “The fuck, Kris!”

 

Kris peeked around the edge of the wall and saw five men with machine guns on the flimsy roofs, firing down at them. He ducked back, raising his gun and trying to return fire, but he was outmatched by their automatic machine guns.

 

“Goddamn it! Kris! Get the fuck down!”

 

He was pinned down. There was no way that he was going to leave the alley without getting his head blown off. Reynolds couldn’t get to him and Jared was trapped on the other side.

 

“Kris! Stay there! Don’t fucking go anywhere!” Jared screamed at him, ducking down again and returning fire above him.

 

“—pinned down, pinned down, need evac!” The captain yelled into his headset. “Grid 42! We have six hostiles above us with machine guns.”

 

Kris crawled backwards, going further into the alley. He got to his feet and checked his weapon, looking above him as he walked quickly along the wall. Maybe if he got around the building and found another alley that led back to where they were, he could make it back to the meeting zone and bring more of the security with him to get everyone else out.

 

He passed an open doorway, making sure it was clear, and stepped past it when he felt strong hands grab him from behind.

 

“Look at what we got. Must be our lucky day,” a voice husked darkly behind him.

 

“Get off!” Kris shouted, kicking out at whoever it was. He raised his weapon and started shooting, until he felt someone punch him in the back of his neck, his wrist grabbed and twisted, shaking the gun from his numb fingers. A hood that smelled like a dirty rag was pulled over his head, his arms twisted behind him and tied with rope. “Get off me!”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Mr. Allen, or I’ll cut off your head,” one of the vampires snarled at him.

 

Two pairs of hands grabbed him and dragged him through the alley as Kris struggled, trying to shake off the hands that held him. He knew they were vampires, their strength easily equaled to his.

 

He was dragged zigzag through the narrow alleys, feet stumbling as he tried to get his footing. The two vampires threw him on a hard, dirt packed floor. He landed on his side as someone jerked the hood off Kris’s head. He blinked his eyes, looking at the three vampires in the small room. His arms were pulled back and strained; his fingers going numb from the lack of circulation. He stared up at the tallest of the vampires, a man with long hair tied back in a ponytail. He was dressed in a light brown suit and white shirt, unbuttoned at the neck and ringed with sweat stains.

 

“What the hell do you want?” Kris snarled at him.

 

“Mr. Allen, I presume.”

 

“Swann?”

 

“You’re not what I was expecting. It’s very rare to surprise me.”

 

Kris smirked. “You’re exactly what I was expecting. A scumbag vampire that has to sell kids to get off.”

 

The vampire smiled, walking towards him. Kris saw the foot coming, but didn’t have time to brace himself when he was kicked in the midsection. He was kicked again, in the groin, his body exploding in pain, stomach roiling. He screamed, pulling his knees up, his thighs trembling. He could feel his balls throbbing between his clenched thighs, fire and ice burning along his nerves.

 

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to show respect to your elders?”

 

Swann kicked him in the face and Kris let out another howl, feeling the bridge of his nose and left cheekbones crack, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth, his eyes watering with blood tears. The pain was so intense, he couldn’t figure out where it was radiating from or what part of his body hurt more. Kris squirmed on the ground, trying to move away, fists clenched behind him. He could feel the skin at his wrists tearing as he struggled to free himself from the rope. All he could taste was blood and pain.

 

Swann inhaled deeply, scenting his blood, and he laughed throatily. “That’s for being an _inconvenience_ to my business, Mr. Allen.”

 

Kris groaned, trying not to press his broken face against the ground. He swallowed the blood in his mouth and coughed. “Fuck you.”

 

The other vampire crouched down in front of him and Kris stared at him through his swollen eyes. “You can try to shut down my routes, but you won’t get to all of them. I can have five more up and running in a matter of hours. So many neglected children populate the world, discarded by humans and left to die a pointless death; why shouldn’t we help them? We are simply giving them a chance to live and a new home. What’s better, to die in poverty or to live a pampered life, serving a vampire?”  

 

“You’re sick in the head. Don’t tell me you’re giving them a choice,” he mumbled, trying not to move because he knew his ribs were broken.  

 

Swann laughed, his lips curling into a smirk. “Children, if they are well cultivated, can supply the richest tasting blood for decades before they grow up and turn sour.” He grabbed Kris’s hair and jerked his face up to look at him. Kris grunted as his broken ribs shifted and his cracked face was blessedly too numb now to feel anything. He was drooling down his chin, but he still glared up at Swann through his swollen eyes. “Have you ever tasted the blood of a child? It’s an addiction; there’s nothing as pure as untainted blood.” He slammed Kris’s head on the ground and Kris screamed as his face felt like it was shattering into tiny pieces. “Not even Primogenitor blood tastes as good. It’s nearly a _divine_ experience.”

 

“Kill him, Swann, let’s get the fuck out of here,” one of the vampires said, looking out the window. “The security agents are nearby.”

 

Swann sighed, smiling regretfully at Kris. “ _Ahhhh_ …I wish we had more time. Perhaps we’ll meet again.”

 

“Go to Hell,” Kris whispered, shaking uncontrollably. He was sure that he was going to die. And to die by this scumbag’s fangs. Kris was so angry; helpless to stop him, nothing but anger running in his veins. He hoped to God that Swann tasted it.

 

“You first,” he said, mouth open as Kris watched in horror as his fangs descended. “Goodbye, Mr. Allen, it was my _pleasure_.”

 

Kris groaned at the shock of what felt like needles in his neck, trying to squirm away from the way that Swann was sucking on him, slick fat tongue licking his skin. He was sickened by Swann’s touch and he tried to kick out at the vampire, but the pain reverberated throughout his entire body as he felt his feet and legs go numb, his head feeling lighter from the blood loss. He gurgled as he lost control of his body, limp on the ground as Swann fed from him. He closed his eyes, lost to the darkness of his pain.  

 

It hurt, to be killed again, maybe worse than when Adam took his mortal life from him. Swann wasn’t going to give him a second chance, he could feel it in how fast he was being drained. He was sorry that he had failed the children, Misha, Ben, Jensen and Jared, that he was stupid to get caught out like he had; and now they were going to have to clean up his mess. He thought about how he was going to die alone and his family didn’t even know he was a vampire, that he’d cut off communicating with them because he was so afraid of how they’d treat him.

 

He closed his eyes and thought about his dad and how he taught Kris to hug with his whole heart and to never be ashamed of showing his love for people; or those nights after school when he’d help his mom in the kitchen make dinner and how he grateful he was to her for learning how to cook when he lived in LA; his brother, for all his faults, still looked up to Kris and he was the only person that David listened to; his family and friends and everyone who loved him; that he hadn’t told any of them how much he loved them and how sorry he was for everything.

 

And for just a second, before he went limp on the ground, he thought of Adam and how much Kris was going to miss him; all the things he hadn’t told Adam and how angry Adam was going to be when he found Kris dead. He regretted—

 

*******

 

Kris never expected to wake up again. He came to, but his eyes wouldn’t open, and he felt someone holding the back of his neck and gently pushing some kind of tube into his mouth and down his throat. He fought them, trying to push them away, kicking out with his feet. What was happening? Why was he alive? Who was doing this?

 

_“No—no!”_

_“Shhh…relax, Kris, please, just let us do this.”_

 

He gagged a little and let out a soft groan, eyes rolling backwards under his eyelids, and blacked out again.

 

Later, for the few seconds that Kris woke up from his long sleep, he blinked open his heavy eyelids to see Jared’s worried face looking down at him, a wrist pressed against his mouth as the tantalizing taste of earthy blood filled his mouth.

 

_“Keep drinking, Kris, you need it, come on, kiddo,” Jared murmured, warm fingers stroking down Kris’s throat, urging him to swallow._

 

He kept his eyes closed, but he swallowed mouthful after mouthful of the delicious blood; he could taste the age in it, the power in the blood as it warmed him and took away his pain, degree by degree.

 

Kris tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were so heavy. He made a sound to show that he heard the words, but he didn’t want to wake up; he wanted to go back to his dreamless sleep.

 

The blood he was fed always tasted different. Kris never had a real preference for blood types, so he happily drank every flavor.

 

He remembered fluttering his eyes open to see Misha sharing his blood, a sad smile on his face. He tasted almost fruity and Kris sighed against his arm, slurping against the knife cut wound with greedy relish. Next, he tasted Jensen, whose blood was aged and reminded him of how he felt after a big Thanksgiving meal, so full but tempted for another bite.

 

_“Take as much as you need,” Jensen murmured against his ear._

 

He was too exhausted to feel any kind of embarrassment, curling his hands around Jensen’s arm and dragging him down to the bed, feeling his fangs descend so that he could reopen the wound and pull more of Jensen’s blood into his mouth. He heard Jensen give a faint moan, a large hand stroking his head as he drank his fill.

 

Kris didn’t know how many hours or days passed; all he did was sleep and drink blood and sleep some more. He could feel his body healing; the aches became dull and disappeared completely. But he was just so tired and he was starving. No matter how much blood he drank, it didn’t keep him full and he craved something more, something that would warm him.

 

_“Kris, baby, drink…”_

_“I’m here now…”_

_“You’re healing and you’ll be strong again real soon…”_

_“You’ll always be mine…”_

 

That taste, Kris could never forget it and would never turn away from it. He hummed against the wrist, his consciousness stirring with memories, and he realized it was Adam’s blood.

 

He moaned, licking the long wound with the tip of his tongue, chasing every single drop that slid into his mouth. “Mmmm…Adam? Adam! What—“  

 

“I’m here and you’re safe, everyone’s safe,” Adam whispered, kissing his forehead. “You’re almost healed; go back to sleep, Kristopher. Sleep. Rest and heal. I’ll take care of you.”

 

Kris believed him, licking his lips and turning his head on the pillow, snuggling deeply against Adam’s firm body, looping his arm over Adam’s chest, holding him close.

 

***

 

His internal clock told him it was late afternoon, even though the bedroom he was in was dark. Kris opened his eyes and felt…whole. He felt a little weak, but otherwise, he felt perfectly fine. He was strong and pain free. His body had that same pleasant feeling of being well used, but he knew it wasn’t because of sex. He sat up and reached for the small bedside lamp, turning it on. He was dressed in clean but wrinkled dark purple silk pajama pants and a soft gray tee-shirt. Who the heck would put him in silk pajama pants? He didn’t recognize the room he was in, but it was decorated with warm oranges and browns, the hardwood floor was a light brown and the walls were a natural color. The high ceiling had wooden cross beams.

 

It was time to get up and explore.  

 

Kris got his bared feet on the cool wooden floors and stretched out his back, arms, and legs, letting out a groan of real pleasure as his body and muscles pulled and tightened in all the right places. He padded into the bathroom and turned on the light, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He looked the same: crazy hair going all over the place, a bit paler than usual, his eyes looked to be a darker shade of brown and he had some circles under his eyes, but no cracked bones protruding out from under his skin, no wounds or bruises, his skin looked even and smooth, just like the day that he was turned.

 

Leaving the bedroom, he walked slowly down the hallway and rubbed his stomach when he smelled the familiar scents of the vampires in the house. He heard voices and followed them, finding the guys hanging out in the large, sunny kitchen.

 

“Hey, everybody.”

 

They turned and greeted him warmly; but Kris’s eyes found Adam immediately and smiled as he was hugged tightly. He breathed in Adam’s cologne and closed his eyes, trembling a little at how emotional he was feeling. _His Primogenitor was here; had given Kris all the blood he could want._

 

“Hey, baby, you feeling all right now?”

 

“Yeah,” he said, looking up to smile at Adam, seeing the worry in his blue eyes. “I feel great actually.” He chuckled a little when Adam squeezed him in his arms before letting him go. He reached up and ran his hand over his head, looking at everyone else. “I don’t remember much but thank you, guys, for giving me your blood.”

 

Jared elbowed Adam aside and placed his hands on Kris’s shoulders, ducking down to stare at him. “I’m going to kick your Arkansas vampire ass, kiddo, for scaring the fuck out of me out there.”

 

Kris hugged him and laughed, patting his back. “Sorry, man.”

 

Jared smiled and released him, letting out a deep breath.

 

“What happened? All I remember is getting bitten by Swann,” he said, sitting on a stool at the counter.

 

“Do you want some blood?” Benedict offered, smiling at him.

 

“Nah, I’m good for now, thanks,” he said, leaning on the counter. “So what all happened? And what day is it? How long was I out?”

 

“Four days,” Misha said, softly. “It was touch and go the first day. If we had found you an hour later than we did, we wouldn’t have been able to bring you back. Jay called Adam and he flew out here while all of us force feed you blood until you regained consciousness.”

 

Kris rubbed his face and grimaced. “Wow…thanks, guys, really. Sorry for causing so much trouble.”

 

“You’re not trouble, baby,” Adam said, rubbing his back with both of his hands. Kris closed his eyes and bit his bottom lip so he wouldn’t end up purring or something embarrassing.

 

“We got Swann,” Jensen told him, solemnly. “He told us everything we needed to know to shut down his trafficking network. We were able to rescue 120 kids and we’re working with every city Elder in the world to make sure to clean up any loose ends.” He grinned at Kris, eyes crinkling at the edges. “You done good, son.”

 

“So it’s over?” Kris said, catching his breath.

 

He watched as they smiled encouraging at him. Kris didn’t know what to feel – relieved it was over, grateful to be alive, happy that the children were safe; it was weird to go from a constant state of urgency to…nothing. It didn’t feel _complete_ to him.

 

“It’s done, baby, everything’s shut down, all the bad guys rounded up,” Adam whispered against his ear.

 

“All right,” Kris said, staring blankly at the counter top. His hands were shaking and he clenched them into fists, swallowing hard at the lump in his throat. He blinked quickly and then lowered his head on the counter, closing his eyes. “Thank God…thank God.”

 

They chuckled, everyone reaching out to pat Kris on the back. He wiped his nose and sat back up, laughing softly. He was relieved, but _what now? What purpose did he have?_ He always felt directionless, his music was the one thing that he knew he wanted; but as a vampire with decades, maybe even centuries, ahead of him, Kris didn’t know what to do to keep going because immortality kind of sounded _boring_. A human mortal knew that there was a time limit, either from old age or something else. Kris had dealt with his mortality like any human being, trying to live a full life as best as he could. That had meant something to him. His parents taught him to _serve a purpose_ with his life; now he had to learn how to serve a purpose with _lifetimes_. 

 

“Good work, Kristopher,” Misha said, squeezing his shoulder with his hand. “It’s not an easy thing to wear the mantle of a city Elder, but you did it well. Maybe I ought to fire Benny and hire you as my _Consigliere Personale_.”

 

“Bloody hell, please! I miss my London,” Benny said, laughing madly.

 

“First of all, no thank you, dude,” he said, chuckling. “But I didn’t do it alone, you guys and like a thousand other people helped.”  

 

“Such a modest boy,” Adam said, patting his butt playfully as he walked past Kris to lean against the counter.

 

“Where are we, anyway?”

 

“About fifty miles outside Nairobi. The city Elder is letting us stay at his private estate while you’re recuperating,” Adam told him, smiling slightly. “I thought we could stay here for a little while; take a vacation or something. Together.”

 

Kris turned on the stool and looked over at Adam. Kris saw the hopeful smile but he could tell Adam was bracing himself for rejection. It made Kris feel a little guilty and a little resentful, like Kris didn’t have a right to reject his Primogenitor; but Kris wasn’t a cruel person, no matter how angry he was. “Yeah, you know, I’d like that. I think I could use a vacation.”

 

Misha chuckled. “I think that’s our cue to leave, gentlemen.”

 

“Yes, yes, let us away,” Benedict said, winking at Kris. “Don’t even consider coming back sooner than two weeks.”

 

“But—“

 

“That’s an order,” Misha added, rather delightedly.

 

Kris watched in surprise as they all started walking out of the kitchen. He slipped off the stool and followed them. “So you guys are just going to ditch now? I just woke up and everything.”

 

“You need to spend some time with your Primogenitor,” Jared said, smiling at him. “You need him more than you need any of us right now.”

 

He knew that Jared was right; he would always crave Adam’s blood, but now, he simply craved Adam’s company and nearness. When Swann was sucking his life blood from him, Kris remembered thinking of Adam. He turned to watch as Adam shook hands with Misha and Jensen, as he smiled and thanked them for their help. Jared gave Kris one last hug before he nearly tackled Adam as he was one of the few people to be taller than Adam, and they shared a hearty hug.

 

_“Take care of him,” Jared whispered into Adam’s ear._

_“I’ll send him back to you guys soon,” Adam told him._

 

Adam closed the door and Kris smiled at him, feeling a lot like that first time he met Adam – nervous, attracted, turned on. Adam smiled at him and then raised his eyebrows, clapping his hands.

 

“So, want a tour of the estate? I kind of want to go for a walk if you think you’re up for it.”

 

“Yeah, let me go change.”

 

***

 

The plains of the Kenyan savanna were more glorious than anything Kris could imagine. As he and Adam walked beyond the posh estate grounds to the rough and natural lands, he stopped to stare at the tower of giraffes walking across the dirt and grass, long legs and long necks lumbering along in a slow and steady pace.

 

He was absolutely joyful to be alive and to see this; it was the first time that he appreciated his immortal life. It was time to accept it, he decided, and not let his fear hold him back from experiencing what he had. He was a vampire for a year now and he realized that he was comfortable in his new skin. He didn’t know when or how it happened, but he wasn’t ashamed of what he had become.

 

He glanced at Adam, his Primogenitor, and saw the vampire who wore his authority and power with confidence. Even now, dressed in casual clothes, without the trappings of his city Elder status, Kris knew that he was formidable. But he could read the stress on his face and the fear in his eyes despite his cool appearance. He saw the vampire, but he didn’t know the man.

 

 _Could he know Adam and love him? Allow the bond between them to grow?_ He was scared; he had trust issues with Adam. But he wanted to belong to someone; he was tired of living a lonely existence.

 

Adam was beautiful; and Kris would be a part of him in a way that no human could ever know. He thought back to the moment of his turning, the fierce possessiveness that Kris felt, knowing that Adam was his. He turned his eyes back to the plains and let the last of his bitterness go.

 

“I wish I brought my camera,” Kris murmured, tucking his hands into his jeans, a wide smile on his face. He would find a way to make his immortal life meaningful. It was the least he could do after his friends saved his life. His immortal life was worth saving.

 

Adam leaned against the tree and Kris could feel his eyes looking him up and down. Kris licked his lips and allowed himself to enjoy it, a shivery feeling starting in his lower belly. He didn’t completely understand what Adam saw in him, but he was glad that Adam still saw it.

 

“We can go back to the house and get my iPhone to take some pictures.”

 

“Nah, it’s all right. We have time. It’s so beautiful here. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of waking up every day and seeing something like this.”

 

They stood under the shade of the tree and looked down at the low lands as herds of other animals wandered past, a few of them stopping to look at them, but they continued walking on, their pace unhurried. Kris thought it was kind of funny that they weren’t at the top of the food chain here; that the animals that roamed the lands were the true predators. But they killed for food, for water, for mating, sometimes even for sport…he made a face, _well, maybe not so different from humans or vampires_.

 

“Are you really feeling better?”

 

“I feel a little more tired than usual, but yeah, I’m feeling better.”

 

Adam grinned slightly. “You’re…changed.” He gave Kris a thoughtful look. “You seem freer somehow. More open.”

 

“Well, maybe nearly dying and losing my immortal life put it in perspective for me,” he said, softly.

 

“I can’t even begin to tell you how scared I was when Misha called me to tell me that you were nearly drained. I flew out here as soon as I got the call and I might have been a little crazy and demanding answers and threatening to kill everyone for breaking their promise to keep you safe.”

 

“It wasn’t their fault, Adam. I wanted to go in there. I’m my own man, you know.”

 

“You are and I’m not disputing that fact at all. But in vampire society, when Misha took responsibility for you, _my_ childe, and took you into his protection and then you end up drained and left to die alone on a dirty floor in the Nairobi slums, yes, Kris, it _is_ his fault for allowing it to happen.”

 

Kris let out a frustrated sigh. He was annoyed when everyone treated him with kid gloves. “Adam—“

 

“In all my years as a Primogenitor, I’ve never lost a childe. My vampire children are my life, my family. I never kept track of my human bloodline so I don’t know if they’re still alive; but my vampire family…I’m father of 23 vampire children and I love each of them and I’ll do anything for them.” Adam said, his voice soft and wistful.

 

Kris opened his mouth and closed it, shaking his head in disbelief. “Twenty three children?”

 

Adam grinned. “Your brothers and sisters. Mine is a small clan, compared to other Primogenitors.”

 

“Wow…I…I didn’t know.” Kris was curious and he glanced over at Adam, seeing the pride on Adam’s face. “Seriously? Twenty three children?”

 

“Every single one of them a pain in my neck, so to speak, but I love them fiercely,” he said, laughing.

 

Kris smiled and looked at the ground. “Someday, I hope to be able to meet all of them.”

 

“Do you mean it?” 

 

“Well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

 

“I didn’t think you wanted to be part of my family…after what I did to you.”

 

Kris felt his chest tighten and he stared at Adam. _Were they really going to talk about this? Was he ready for an explanation?_ It wasn’t like Adam could take back what he did and he had apologized so many times already but…maybe Kris wasn’t ready to hear what Adam had to say before, too full of anger and resentment and hurt to truly hear.

 

“Why did you turn me? That night, when I came for dinner. One minute, you were fine and then…then you just…you killed me.”

 

“You begged me to stop,” Adam whispered, looking away. “My children begged me to stop and I attacked them for trying to help you. But I was too far gone by then.”  

 

Kris didn’t say anything. He crossed his arms across his chest, feeling the bloom of anger starting. He was so tired of that answer – Adam lost control, he was too far gone – and it just seemed like a trivial explanation, that that was all it took for Adam to take his mortal life away.

 

“I’m going to need more than that.”

 

“I was angry that you rejected me.”

 

“But you knew I wasn’t rejecting you, I was rejecting the turning,” Kris said, looking at him. “If you wanted to date me, I wouldn’t have rejected you. If you wanted to be lovers, I wouldn’t have rejected you. But you took everything away from me.”

 

“And I gave you _everything_ _else_.”

 

“That doesn’t excuse what you did, Adam! You have to understand that about me or we will never be able to get past this— _I_ won’t be able to get past what you did to me.”

 

He watched as Adam struggled with his frustration and anger, watching as the older vampire bit his lip and closed his eyes.

 

“You’ve been a vampire for a year now; haven’t you had a moment when you’ve scented someone’s blood and wanted nothing more than to taste them and to make them immortal so that they would be a part of you forever?”

 

“No, of course not! I’m not going to do to someone else what…what you did to me.”

 

Adam narrowed his blue eyes; it had been a long time since Kris saw true anger in Adam. “Is that so? So in the year that you’ve been living in Prague, you haven’t fallen in love with a human? Haven’t wanted to turn her and bring her over?” He pushed off away from the tree and stood in front of Kris. “You haven’t tasted her blood and thought, for one fleeting second, that if you took just a little more and gave her some of your blood, she’d be tied to you forever?”

 

“No.”

 

“No?” Adam walked back to the tree and leaned against it heavily, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Well, then, you’re a better vampire than me – a better man. I’ve been a vampire for 166 years and I never thought I had to learn to suppress my need to claim my mate. Congratulations, you’re the first of our kind who doesn’t feel a bond to his mate.”  

 

“Don’t be a douche bag.”

 

“Then don’t lie to me.”

 

He was right. Kris couldn’t lie anymore, couldn’t condemn Adam because Kris _did_ know, maybe not to the intensity that Adam had felt for him, but Kris knew what it was like to _want_ , his vampire instincts telling him that he could have what he wanted.

 

He blushed, biting his lip and looking away. He remembered the powerful feelings he had for Kate when he saw her perform that first night; the sweet scent of her blood flipped his switch and made him ache for her in a way that he didn’t know he could feel. And then when she offered him her blood, the first time he bit her neck, the way that her skin parted around his fangs and her blood gushed into his mouth, the sound of her moan as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, letting him sink deeper into her, inside of her…

 

“Was it – is it the sex?” He had to ask because a part of him wondered; because there were those stories of sex with vampires and the biting during sex that made things so unbelievably intense. It took him a long time to – to do that with Kate, to bite her during because he wasn’t sure if it was so good because he was a vampire or because they were good together in bed.

 

“You were _never_ just a fuck, Kris,” Adam said, thickly. “I wanted you, every part of you, as soon as I caught your scent that day you walked into my house to answer for your brother’s gambling debts.”

 

And about that…Kris needed to know if Adam would tell him the truth. “You tricked me, about asking for a favor.”

 

Adam stared at him for a long time and Kris wondered if he was going to get an honest answer.

 

From their earliest days as friends, Kris and Jared would just hang out and shoot the shit, getting drunk together. Of all the vampires, Jared was the least intimidating and Kris was closest to him. Maybe it was because Jared was the one to approach him that night in Prague; or that Jared sought him out for his company and showed Kris that it was possible to have a happy life as a vampire; that Jared was turned without his consent; and Kris knew he could trust Jared to be straight with him and tell Kris what he needed to know. Misha, Benedict, and Jensen were always calculating the angles, politics and diplomacy ruled them so they couldn’t be flat out truthful – after all, Kris really was just a citizen and he didn’t have permanent ties to Prague. So that left Jared, who was once a city Elder and who still held the Primogenitorship over Jensen’s fifty or so vampire children; he told Kris the truth, no bullshit between them.

 

So when Kris had finally broached the subject of asking for a favor, Jared had looked at him with sadness and regret in his eyes and gave him the truth.

 

_“Favors are…they’re priceless things. When a vampire asks another for a favor, it puts them in debt until that favor is repaid in kind. It’s not something that’s asked for or given lightly because…because sometimes a favor can’t ever be repaid and…it could take lifetimes for a favor to be repaid. That’s why vampires don’t usually ask for favors.”_

_“But I wasn’t a vampire when I asked Adam for a favor.”_

_Jared looked at him, hazel eyes sorrowful. “But look what he did to you. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re here and one of our kind, but he took your human life and broke a sacred covenant between humans and vampires. If he weren’t a city Elder, that’s a death sentence for us.”_

_Kris squeezed his hands into fists. “So he could’ve just helped me because…because it would’ve been the right thing to do.”_

_Jared nodded. “You never had to ask for a favor; he could’ve voided the contract your brother signed over and that would’ve been the end of it.”_

 

Adam looked away first and closed his eyes. He seemed to be battling with himself and Kris waited him out. If Adam was honest with him, then it gave Kris hope that they could talk about it. Kris might still be resentful, but he wasn’t furious anymore.

 

“I tricked you,” Adam whispered, turning his face to meet Kris’s steady gaze. “I lied to you. You never had to ask for anything. It was my duty to void the contract your brother made because you never consented to having your blood used as collateral. That contract was illegal.”

 

“So it was all just a show, at my expense,” he said, sadly. “Because you wanted my blood and you wanted to sleep with me.”

 

“Because I knew you were my mate.”

 

“But _how_ did you know? That was the first time we had ever met.”

 

“Blood never lies, Kris, a vampire knows his mate by instinct. I had existed all this time and never once met anyone who I wanted to bond with. So imagine my shock when I scented you. I was more than prepared to void the contract before I sent my boys out to get you. When Brad received Raoul’s request, I could’ve easily denied it because Brad learned it wasn’t legal. But I was curious about you and your brother; I wanted to know why your brother would put you up for collateral. I was just curious. You never needed to be there. We might have never met.”

 

Kris let out a choked laugh and sat down on the ground, running his hands over his head. How messed up was it that his life had changed because of a moment of curiosity? He could be living in LA right now, working on his album, maybe even doing a tour of small clubs, and leading a wholly mortal life.

 

“Oh man…damn it, Adam,” he said, laughing to himself and shaking his head.

 

“I’m sorry for how I did it, but I don’t regret turning you. _You_ have to understand that about me if we want to move forward.”

 

He snorted and squinted up at Adam. “You’re a right bastard, you know that?”

 

Adam cracked a small smile. “Yeah, I know.”

 

He sighed and walked towards Kris, sitting down on the grass beside him. They stared out at the plains together, the sun slowly working its way closer to the horizon.

 

“So what do we do now?” Adam said, curling his arms around his bent legs.

 

“I don’t know. Start over, I guess?” Kris shrugged, tucking his chin on his shoulder. “I still don’t really know who you are, aside from that you’re my Primogenitor and my bond mate. You’re still a stranger to me, Adam, so I guess the only way to move forward is to get to know each other.” He snickered to himself and turned his face to look up at Adam. “Maybe we’ll find out that we really don’t have that much in common and, I don’t know, be friends but lead separate lives or whatever. Do bond mates get divorced or something?”

 

“Nothing that easy,” he said, softly. “But sometimes, if the claim isn’t whole-heartedly accepted by both parties, it kind of fades away. Death is the only thing to break it.”

 

“So you claimed me the same time that you turned me.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Kris snorted and shook his head. He sighed and sat back, his hands on the ground behind him, legs stretched and crossed at the ankles. “All right then…why don’t you tell me about yourself.”

 

Adam turned to look at him, an incredulous expression on his handsome face. “Seriously?”

 

“Yeah, man, come on. Tell me about yourself. You have 166 years to go through, so you better get talking.”

 

He watched as Adam laughed and grinned when the other vampire turned, curling his long legs under him. Blue eyes regarded him for a long time and Adam propped his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

 

“I was born Adam Mitchel Lambert on January 28th in 1815…”

 

***

 

Kris felt the call of the night and he opened his eyes, staring up at the high beams of the ceiling above. Adam snored lightly beside him, curled on his side and hands tucked under his pillows. His long black bangs fell over his forehead, making him look very young, and Kris ached to brush his hair from his face and kiss him and roll him on his back and… _take_.

 

The week with Adam surprised him because he was afraid that he wouldn’t find common ground with his Primogenitor. He was sure that all Adam wanted from him was just blood and sex, but aside from Adam’s affectionate hugs, he hadn’t pushed for more.

 

Instead, he and Kris spent long hours talking, about anything, and Kris was pleased to find that Adam was, at his core, a good man. Adam told him funny stories of his early years as a vampire, the awkwardness he experienced before he fully accepted what he was, the long years that he was alone because he was afraid of the responsibilities of being a Primogenitor.

 

_“Is it weird, being father to other vampires?”_

_Adam considered the question with a thoughtful look on his face. “It’s not weird, because I feel fatherly towards them – some of them.” He gave Kris a wicked, leering smile. “But it’s not like human families; it’s not incestuous if that’s what you’re worried about it. My relationship with them is Primogenitor and childe. I have privileges and rights over my children, because I created them, and we have a connection because I shared my blood with them to turn them. I love my children because they are a part of me._

 

_“Bradley was my first childe. I was afraid to show him what I was, but once he knew, it was something he wanted. He was smarter than me, braver, because he knew and he wasn’t afraid.”_

_“Is that why he’s your Consigliere Personale?”_

_Adam snorted. “He’s my Consigliere Personale because he’s a bossy vampire who knows how to get shit done.”_

_“What about your other children? Allison is your second childe.”_

_“One of my favorites – though, I try not to play favorites too much. It causes way too much rivalry between the children, so much drama. But everyone loves Ally, she’s ruthless and doesn’t put up with anyone’s crap. She tells it like she sees it and she protects the whole clan,” Adam said, smiling at him._

_He scratched his head and peered up at Adam. “Do – do you sleep with all of your children?”_

_Adam burst out into a loud laugh. “Oh God, no. No. I know that that’s one of the ways that Primogenitors bond their children to them, but no, I don’t sleep with everyone that I turn. Allison was only 17-years old when I turned her so I always see her as a young girl, even though she’s the second oldest.”_

_Kris nibbled on his lip. “So…you feel that way for me because I’m your childe, too?”_

_“It’s different with you because I claimed you as my mate,” Adam said, softly. “I love you, not just as my childe, but as my equal. I try to be fair with my children and treat them with respect, but they will never be my equal. But you are.”_

 

Kris eavesdropped on Adam when he was on the phone, talking to Brad about city business; joking with Allison about her various pet projects; advising Tommy on his music career; and laughing with Cassidy about the drama going on in his store. Each day that they spent together, Kris discovered something new about him. And he liked what he discovered.

 

One early evening, Kris returned to the estate after a long run to find Adam lounging on the couch, foot bobbing in the air, earphones on, and singing to David Bowie’s new song.

 

_“…you never knew that…that I could do that…just walking the dead…”_

 

Kris ran into the living room and jerked out the earphones, staring down at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that you sing – that you can sing like that?”

 

Adam sat up slowly, his cheeks flushed. “I…can sing?”

 

“Yeah, no shit,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “You once told me that you gave up singing so you could be a city Elder, but you didn’t tell me you sang like that!”

 

He watched as Adam laughed, throwing back his head and showing off the elegant arch of his throat. _Now, that wasn’t fair_ , Kris thought as his mouth watered and his fangs descended, piercing his tongue. Adam sniffed once and then turned his head to stare at Kris’s mouth, his tongue coming out to lick his lips.

 

“Uhhh…” Kris said, dumbly, and then jumped off the couch, running for the stairs. “Gotta take a shower. Be right back!”

 

He was surprised and disappointed when Adam didn’t follow him or try to kick the door down to get to him. He started the shower and knocked his forehead against the wall, feeling like an idiot. Of course Adam was going to respect his wishes and work hard to get to know each other better. Damn it, why did he have to get all noble now, when Kris was horny and every day with Adam made Kris _crave_ for more.

 

A whole week together with nothing more than friendly, affectionate touching, and sleeping cuddled in the big bed. Kris closed his eyes and told himself that he was a total freaking idiot. Adam was waiting for _Kris_ to make the first move. Duh. Why didn’t he figure this out sooner?

 

But he appreciated the time; and they still had a long road ahead of them but Kris felt like they were on the same road together, taking the pace together, and he was glad for Adam’s patience. What Kris needed now wasn’t just Adam’s patience, he needed sex!

 

Slowly, he kicked off the covers, watching to see if Adam woke up. His feet tangled in the sheets and comforter and Kris sat up, trying to figure out how to get his feet freed, and then slipped a little closer to Adam, scooting along the bed until he was face to face. He ducked his head and tucked it against Adam’s neck, rubbing the tip of his nose against Adam’s sleep-warm skin.

 

“Mmmm…” Adam murmured, arms coming around Kris to hold him, cuddling him in closer. “Baby…”

 

Kris licked Adam’s neck, long slow strokes with the flat of his tongue, the blood rushing in his ears as Adam’s arms tightened, a long leg tucking between his thighs.

 

“This is a _very_ nice way to wake up,” Adam said, pulling Kris over him as he rolled onto his back.

 

Kris grinned, propped up on his elbows. “’Morning.”

 

“Good morning, Kristopher,” Adam purred at him, looking sleepy and sexy at the same time. “What do I owe this lovely surprise?”

 

“I’m horny and you’re being annoyingly gentlemanly,” he said, raising his eyebrow.

 

Adam laughed, his chest rumbling against Kris. “Um, sorry?”

 

“Will you bite me a little?”

 

He watched as Adam’s eyes widened and then narrowed, his pupils dilating so that there was only a thin glowing ring of blue. His eyelids lowered seductively and Adam licked his lips, fangs already down, and rolled Kris onto his back to the middle of the bed.

 

“Fuck yes, you cocktease, I’ll give you a little bite,” he growled and bit into Kris’s neck with his fangs.

 

“Oophf!” Kris groaned, closing his eyes and tilting his chin back, hands clutching Adam’s shoulders. The pain was sharp, but so was the pleasure. He wriggled under Adam, curling one leg over his hip and arching his lower back so he could better rub his cock against Adam’s hardness.

 

Adam pushed down his pajama pants and nearly tore Kris’s boxers in his haste to get them bare. Kris tried to help, but he just got in the way, so he slid his hand over the fleshy roundness of Adam’s ass, rubbing his palm over the smooth skin. Because of course Adam wouldn’t be anything less than silky smooth.

 

He pulled his fangs out slowly and licked the wounds, closing them. And Kris closed his eyes as Adam kissed him, tasting his blood in Adam’s mouth. He moaned when he tasted Adam’s blood, knowing that he must’ve ripped his tongue open with his fangs so that Kris could suck and suck, swallowing his blood.

 

Adam’s hand reached between them, wrapping around their cocks, stroking them both as Kris pressed closer, arms curled tightly behind Adam’s neck. He didn’t know what was better – Adam’s blood in his mouth or Adam’s hand around his cock – but either way, it was all good and Kris needed it, blood and cock, and finally pulled his mouth away, flinging his head back into the pillows, and let his body have its pleasure.

 

He heard Adam come and felt him wet against his belly, a soft chuckle coming from him. Kris opened his eyes to look up at him. “Better not be laughing at how fast I just came.”

 

“That’s not why,” Adam said, brushing a kiss on his chin. “I’m just happy that you came to me. Came with me.”

 

“Came _on_ me,” Kris said, snickering. He slowly released his choke hold on Adam’s neck and slid his hands over his long back, taking his time to feel the long, flexing muscles, buzzing from the bite, the blood, and the pleasure.

 

Adam bent his head and kissed Kris, slipping his tongue into his mouth, and caressing his tongue. It wasn’t urgent, but lingering and giving. He licked Kris’s lips, sucked on his bottom lip, and Kris smiled into the kiss.

 

“Thank you, I really needed that,” he said, smirking slightly.

 

Adam gave him a narrowed look. “So you just want me for my body?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Awesome,” he said, chuckling. “Please, let me service you in any way you want.”

 

Kris snorted, rolling his eyes. “Have you always been such a total cheeseball?”

 

“Only for you,” he said, smiling at him. He stroked Kris’s sweaty head and kissed him again.

 

***

 

“We can’t stay in bed the whole week.” Kris complained, grinning. It wasn’t really a complaint, but Kris really was wiped out. They hadn’t stopped having sex for four days straight and even though he was immortal, he was exhausted.

 

“Why not? I think it’s an excellent plan.”

 

Kris laughed, curled on his side with Adam snuggled in behind him, arms curled around his waist. “Because, we have to get up and—and do stuff.”

 

“All right, we can _do stuff_ in the living room or the kitchen or the bathroom or outside on the patio. Whatever. I’m easy.”

 

“Yeah, you kind of are,” he said, closing his eyes and burrowing into his pillow. “I need sleep. And sustenance. Mostly sleep.”

 

Adam kissed the back of his neck. “Mm-hmm…”

 

“Sleep, Adam! Sleep!”

 

He heard Adam sigh. “Young ones, you’d think they had more stamina than this.”

 

Kris elbowed him, not too hard, and they both laughed. “Dude, it’s been _four_ days! Four days, Adam, I need to rest!”

 

“Fine. You rest; I’ll just hold you,” Adam murmured, innocently kissing Kris’s neck. “And kiss you.” He kissed Kris’s ear and licked the rim, causing his stomach to flutter with desire. “And amuse myself with your gorgeous body.” He stroked Kris’s butt with the palm of his hand.

 

Kris kicked off the covers and flipped around, pushing Adam on his back and climbing on top of him. He gave Adam a wicked grin and grabbed his wrists, pinning them beside his head. “Just remember that you asked for this, old man.”

 

“Who’re you calling an old man— _ohhhhh, Kristopher_ …”

 

***

 

**Jomo Kenyatta International Airport**

 

 

Adam curled his arm around Kris’s shoulder as they walked to the private plane that Misha had sent for him. He turned and hugged Adam, holding him tightly as he pressed his face against Adam’s shoulder.

 

“I need to finish this,” he said, hoping that Adam understood.

 

“I know.”

 

He closed his eyes and kissed his Primogenitor. “I’ll see you soon.”

 

“Take care of yourself, baby. And if you ever need me, I’ll be there,” Adam promised, smiling sadly at him as he curled his hands on Kris’s neck, thumbs stroking his cheeks. “I’ll miss you.”

 

Kris nodded. “I’ll miss you, too.”

 

“But you’re not ready to come home yet.”

 

“Not yet,” he whispered, brushing another kiss on Adam’s lips. This one definitely tasted like goodbye. He pulled himself away before he changed his mind and went back to LA with him. He took the steps to the plane and turned when he reached the interior, looking at Adam.

 

Adam blew him a kiss and waved. Kris nodded and offered him a small smile. He knew it wasn’t much, but he couldn’t abandon his life in Prague, not yet. Kris knew he still had a journey, but it was clear to both of them that no matter how long the road was, the road led to Adam.

 

 _We have all the time in the world_.

 

 _You know where to find me_.

 

_I’ll be waiting for you to come home._

 

Kris looked out the small plane window to see Nairobi below, the city becoming smaller and smaller, getting further from Adam with each minute. He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head against the plush leather seat back.

 

 _I’ll be home soon_ , Kris promised, curled against Adam’s body.


End file.
